
Glass __£jJ12_ 



CopightN' 

GDBaRIGHr DEPOSIT. 



■f- 



POPULAR HISTORY 



United States of America, 



THE ABORIGINAL TIMES 

TO 

THE PRESENT DAY. 



EMBRACING 

AX ACCOUNT OF THE ABORIGINES; THE NORSEMEN IN THE NEW WORLD; THE 
DISCOVERIES BY THE SPANIARDS, ENGLISH, AND FRENCH ; THE PLANT- 
ING OF SETTLEMENTS; THE GROWTH OF THE COLONIES; THE 
STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY IN THE REVOLUTION ; THE ESTAB- 
LISHMENT OF THE UNION ; THE DEVELOPMENT 
OF THE NATION ; AND THE CIVIL WAR. 



BY 

JOHN CLARK RIDPATH, A.M., 

Professor of Belles-Lettrcs and History in Indiana Asbury University ; Author of Ridpath' s 
School History of the United States, etc., etc. 



lUustralfb Vrt| Paps/'Clj^rb^l^orliVits, "a;Ti) llingrams. 



^ OF CQM,^-.. 



JONES BROTHERS & CO. 

CINCINNATI, PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, 

MEMPHIS, ATLANTA. 

1 876. 







Entered according to Act of Congress, ia the year 1S76, by 

JOHN T. JONES, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



PREFACE. 



Dear People of the Uxited States: — 

By this, my Preface, I offer to you a New History of your coun- 
try — and mine. The work is presented in the form of an abridged 
narrative. My reasons for such a venture are brief, but, I trust, sat- 
isfactory : 

First, to every American citizen some knowledge of the history of 
his country is indispensable. The attainment of that knowledge ought 
to be made easy and delightful. 

Second, the Centennial of the Republic furnishes an auspicious oc- 
casion for the study of those great events which compose the warp 
and woof of the new civilization in the West. 

This book is intended for the average American ; for the man 
of business who has neither time nor disposition to plod through ten 
or twenty volumes of elaborate historical dissertation ; for the prac- 
tical man of the shop, the counter, and the plow. The work is 
dedicated to the household and the library of the poor. It is in- 
scribed to the father, the mother, the son, and the daughter of the 
American family. If father, mother, son, and daughter shall love 
their country better — if they shall understand more clearly and ap- 
preciate more fully the founding, progress, and growth of liberty in 

the New World — the author will be abundantly repaid, 

(iii) 



iv PREFACE. 

In the preparation of the work the following objects have been 
kept in vie\v : 

I. To give an accurate and spirited Narrative of the principal 
events in our National history from the aboriginal times to the pres- 
ent day. 

II. To discuss the Philosophy of that history as fully as possible 
within the narrow limits of the work. 

III. To avoid all Partiality, Partisanship, and Prejudice, as 
things dangerous, baneful, and wicked. 

IV. To preserve a clear and systematic Arrangement of the sev- 
eral subjects, giving to every fact, whether of peace or war, its true 
place and importance in the narrative. 

V. To give an Objective Representation by means of charts, 
maps, drawings, and diagrams, of all the more important matters in 
the history of the nation. 

VI. To secure a Style and Method in the book itself which 
shall be in keeping with the spirit and refinement of the times; 

Whether these important ends have been attained, dear People, 
it is not my province but yours to decide. I have labored earnestly 
to reach the ideal of such a work, and if success has not rewarded 
the effort, the failure has been in the execution rather than in the 
plan and purpose. 

I surrender the book, thus undertaken and completed, to You — 
for whom it was intended. AVith diffidence I ask a considerate judg- 
ment and just recognition of whatever worth the work may be found 
to possess. 

J. C. R. 

Indiana Asbury University, "(^ 
January 1, 1876. J 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

"What constitute? a period in history. — The period of the Aborigines. — The second 
period in the liistory of the United States. — Extends from the discovery of the conti- 
nent to tlie establisliment of permanent settlements. — The tliird period. — Reaches from 
the first colonies to the war of the Revolution. — The fourth period. — Embraces the 
Revolution and the consolidation of the government. — Tlie fifth period is most im- 
portant. — Extends from the adoption of the Constitution to the present time. — The 
names and dates of the several periods 39, 40. 



PART I. 

ABORIGINAL AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE RED MEN — ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION, CHARACTER. 

The Indians. — Their name accounted for. — Differences between them and the 
Asiatics. — Tlie origin of the Indian races unknown. — -Theories controverted. — The 
question likely to remain unsolved. — Language may give us liglit. — The Red men Gan- 
owanians. — Habits of tliat race. — Divisions of the aboriginal nations.--The Esqui- 
maux. — Their manner of life. — The race of Algonquins. — Their distribution. — And 
cliaracter. — The Huron-Iroquois. — Their domain. — Nature of their confederation. — 
Their influence and character. — The Southern races. — Cherokees. — Mobilians. — Man- 
ners and characteristics. — The Dakotas. — Tlieir limits. — The Comanches. — The na- 
tions beyond the Mountains. — Shoshonees. — Selish. — Klamaths. — Californians. — Aztecs 
and Toltecs of old. — The Indian character in general. — Sense of personal inde- 
pendence. — Passion for war. — Principles of war. — And of peace. — The Indian unsocial 
and solitary. — His family organization. — The Eurnpean family. — Diagram thereof. — 
Indian method. — And diagram. — Aboriginal government. — Powers and limitations. — 
Native religion. — Beliefs of the Red men. — Their arts. — Rudeness of the same. — The 
Indian house. — Utensils. — Weapons. — Clothing. — Decorations. — Paint. — And writing. — 
Tlie savage tongues. — Peculiarities of Indian speech. — Personal appearance of the 
aborigines. — Stature. — Features. — Bodily habit. — Indian ainu.'sements. — The dance. — 
Other sports. — Gaming. — The use of tobacco. — Strong drinks. — Indian prospects. — 
Reflections 41-50. 

. (V) 



vi CONTENTS. 

PART II. 

VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 

A. ». 986—1607. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE ICELANDERS AND NORWEGIANS IN AMERICA. 

Heijulfson is driven by a storm to tlie Aiuerican coast. — Lief Erickson discovers 
America. — Thorwald and Tliorstein Erickson make voyages. — Thorfinn Karlsefne ex- 
plores tlie shores of Maine and Massachusetts. — Other voyages are made by the Norse- 
men. — The name of Vinland. — Character of the sea-kings. — Voyages in the following 
centuries. — No practical results from the Icelandic discoveries. — Their authenticity. — 
Note 51-54. 

CHAPTER III. 

SPANISH DISCOVERIES. 

Spain makes the New World known to Europe. — Old ideas about the figure of the 
earth. — Columbus. — Sketch of his life. — The favor of Isabella. — Columbus departs on 
his first voyage. — Discovers San Salvador, Cuba, and Hayti.— Second voyage of (Co- 
lumbus. — Third. — He discovers South America. — Fourth voyage. — Columbus's misfort- 
unes and death. — Wrong done to his memory. — Vespucci makes two voyages to South 
America. — Excitement in Europe on account of discoveries. — Colony planted on the 
Isthmus. — Balboa discovers the Pacific. — Ponce de Leon makes explorations in Flor- 
ida. — Is killed in a fight with the Indians 54-58. 

CHAPTER IV. 

SPANISH DISCOVERIES — CONTINUED. 

Cordova discovers Yucatan. — Grijalvaexplores Mexico. — Cortez lands at Tabasco. — 
Terror pervades the country. — The natives are beaten back. — Cortez proceeds to Vera 
Cruz. — Montezuma sends embassies and presents. — The Spaniards march towards the 
capital. — And are forbidden to approach. — The Mexican tribes revolt. — Cortez reaches 
the city. — And enters. — His critical situation. — He seizes Montezuma. — Who acknowl- 
edges the king of Spain.— The governor of Cuba sends forces against Cortez. — He over- 
powers them.— Returns to the capital. — The struggle for possession of the city. — Mon- 
tezuma is wouiided.^ — And dies. — The Spaniards are victorious. — Mexico becomes a 
Spanish province. — Magellan sails around South America. — Crosses the Pacific. — Is 
killed at the Philippines. — His crew reach the East Indies. — Double the Cape of 
Good Hope. — Return to Europe. — De Narvaez is appointed governor of Florida. — Ex- 
plores the country around the Gulf. — The company embark in boats, and are wrecked. — 
Four men reach San Miguel. — De Soto sets out on an expedition to explore and con- 
quer Florida. — Arrives at Tampa Bay. — Marches into the interior. — Spends the winter 
on Flint River. — Tlie company march into South Carolina. — Cross into Georgia. — Capt- 
ure Manville. — Spend the next winter on the Yazoo. — Discover the Mississippi. — Ex- 
plore Arkansas and return to the Mississippi. — De Soto dies. — His men again march 
westward to the mountains. — Return to the mouth of Red River.— Build boats and 
descend the Mississippi. — Reach the Spanish settlements in Mexico. — Melendez comes 



CONTENTS. vii 

to Florida, and founds St. Augustine. — Murders the Huguenots on the St. John's. — 
Massacres the crews of the French vessels. — Extent of the Spanish explorations. — The 
Portuguese voyage of Gaspar Cortereai. — He sells a cargo of Indian slaves in Portu- 
gal. . . ' Cl-69. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE FRENCH IN AMERICA. 

First acquaintance of the French with America. — Verrazzani is sent out to make ex- 
plorations. — Arrives on the coast of North Carolina. — Explores the shores of the country 
as far north as Newfoundland. — Cartier is sent on a voyage to America.— Readies 
Newfoundland and enters the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence. — Returns to Europe. — 
Sails on a second expedition. — Ascends the St. Lawrence to Montreal. — His crew are 
attacked with scurvy. — He passes the winter near the site of Quebec. — And returns to 
France. — Eoberval undertakes to colonize the country. — Cartier joined to the under- 
taking. — Prisons of France are opened to furnish emigrants. — Expedition reaches the 
St. Lawrence. — The leaders quarrel, and Cartier goes back to France. — The whole 
colony returns. — Eoberval sails with another Heet. — And is lost at sea. — Eibault con- 
ducts a band of Huguenots to Port Royal. — Builds Fort Carolina. — The settlement is 
abandoned. — The enterprise renewed by Laudonniere. — A Huguenot colony estab- 
lished on the St. John's River. — But destroyed by Melendez. — De Gourges takes venge- 
ance on the Spaniards. — La Roche is commissioned to plant colonies in America. — 
French prisons again opened. — A settlement is made on Sable Island. — The company 
rescued and carried to France. — De Monts made viceroy of New France. — Departs with 
a colony. — Reaches the Bay of Fundy. — Port Royal founded by Poutrincourt, and the 
St. Croix settlement by De Monts. — The country named Acadia. — Champlain receives 
a commission. — Sails with a colony to the St. Lawrence. — Goes against the Iroquois. — 
Returns and founds Quebec 70-76. 

CHAPTER VI. 

ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEJIENTS. 

Henry VII. commissions John Cabot. — Who discovers North America. — Is re- 
commissioned. — Sebastian takes charge of the expedition. — Explores the American 
coast from Labrador to Cape Hatteras. — Leaves England to become pilot of Spain. — 
The notable year 1498. — Causes which impeded English discovery. — Maritime enter- 
prise revives under Elizabeth. — Frobisher sails to America and discovers Meta Incog- 
nita. — Takes spurious ore to London. — A new voyage is planned. — Frobisher conducts 
a fleet to Meta Incognita. — The exjiedition proves a failure. — Sir Francis Drake cap- 
tures Spanish merchantmen. — Goes to tlie Pacific coast. — Attempts the discovery of a 
north-west passage. — Gilbert forms a plan of colonization. — Is assisted by Raleigh. — 
Conducts a fleet to Newfoundland. — The crews find spurious minerals. — The voyage is 
continued to Massachusetts. — Gilbert loses his best ship and a hundred men. — Starts 
home, and is lost at sea. — Raleigh sends Amidas and Barlow with a colony. — They 
reach Roanoke Island and begin a settlement. — The place is abandoned. — Raleigh 
sends a second colony under Lane. — The colonists reach Roanoke and begin to build. — 
Difficulties arise with the Indians. — The settlement is broken up. — The colony taken 
home by Drake. — A new charter granted by Raleigh, and White chosen governor. — 
The new emigrants arrive at Roanoke. — The foundationsof a town laid on the Island. — 
Troubles with the Indians. — Manteo is made a peer. — White returns to England. — Birth 
of Virginia Dare. — The fate of the colony never ascertained. — Condition of affairs in 
England. — White returns, and finds Roanoke deserted. — Raleigh assigns his patent tO' 



viii CONTENTS. 

London merchants. — Gosnold makes a voyage directly across the Atlantic. — Attempts 
to form a settlement on Elizabeth Island. — The place is abandoned. — Gosnold trades 
with the natives. — The crew demand to return. — Flattering accounts are given of the 
country. — An expedition is sent out under Pring. — He explores a part of the New 
England coast, and returns to Bristol. — Waymouth sails on a voyage. — Trades with 
the Indians of Maine. — Eeturns to England 76-85 

CHAPTER VII. 

ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. — CONTINUED. 

King James issues patents to the London and Plymouth Companies. — The London 
Company to plant colonies between the 34th and the 38th parallels. — The Plymouth Com- 
pany to make .settlements from the 41st to the 45tli degree. — Gosnold, Smith, Hakluyt 
and Wingfield lead the afl'airs of the Southern Company. — No democratic principles 
are recognized in the charter.— A ship is .sent out by the Plymouth Company. — A 
second vessel is dispatched to America. — A settlement is attempted at the mouth of the 
Kennebec. — Is abandoned in the summer of 1608. — A fleet with a colony is sent out by 
the London Company. — Newport commands. — They arrive in the Chesapeake. — Enter 
James River. — Make a landing and lay the foundations of Jamestown, — The affairs of 
tlie Plymouth Company are revived by Smith. — He explores and ma])s the coast of 
Maine and Massachusetts. — Several attempts are made to form a colony in New Eng- 
land. — The Plymouth Company is superseded by the Council of Plymouth. — A new 
plan of colonization is made, and Smitli appointed admiral. — Tlie Puritans arise in the 
North of England. — Tliey remove to Amsterdam and Leyden. — Determine to remove to 
America. — Ask permission of tiie king and the Council of Plymouth. — Meet with dis- 
couragements. — Procure two vessels at their own expense. — Sail from Leyden, and after- 
ward from Southampton. — The Speedwell is found unfit for the voyage, and the Pilgrims 
depart in the Mayflower. — The Pilgrims have a stormy voyage. — Come in sight of Cape 
Cod. — They make a frame of government. — Carver is elected governor. — The landing 
is delayed by bad weather. — The ship is driven by storms. — Enters Plymouth harbor.-^ 
The Puritans go ashore on the lltli of December. — Begin to build. — Are attacked with 
diseases. — Many of the colony die. — An early spring brings them relief. . 85-91. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

VOYAGES AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE DUTCH, 

Dutch settlements in America result from the voyages of Hudson.^ — He is employed 
by London merchants to reach the Indies. — Sails into tiie North Atlantic. — Fails in his 
eflfort. — Is sent on a second voyage. — And fails. — Goes into tlie service of the Dutch East 
India Company. — Sails on a third voyage. — Is driven back by the icebergs. — Turns to 
America. — Reaches Newfoundland. — Sails southwai'd to the Chesapeake. — Then north- 
ward to New York harbor. — Discovers the Hudson River. — Explores that stream as far 
as Albany. — Returns to Dartmouth. — Is detained by the English government. — Is sent on 
a fourth expedition. — Discovers Hudson Strait and Bay. — Is overtaken by winter. — The 
crew mutiny. — Hudson is cast off among the icebergs. — Dutch vessels begin to trade at 
the mouth of the Hudson. — The states-general grant a right to trade. — h. settlement is 
made on Manhattan Island. — Block explores Long Island Sound. — Christianson builds 
Fort Nassau. — May ex[)lores the coast of New Jersey. — Holland claims the country 
from Delaware Bay to Cape Cod . 92-94 



CONTENTS. ix 



PART III. 

COLONIAL HISTORY. 

A. 1). 1607— 1775. 



PARENT COLONIES. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VIRGINIA. — THE FIRST CHARTER. 

The progress of Virginia is hindered. — First settlers are of bad character. — Necessity 
drives them to labor. — The king gives sealed instructions. — Smith is arrested. — And ex- 
cluded from the council. — He and Newport explore the .James. — Return to Jamestown. 
— Newport goes to England. — The colonists are discouraged. — Disease ravages the settle- 
ment. — Gosnold dies. — Wingfieid embezzles the funds. — And is removed from office. — 
Eatcliffe succeeds. — And is also impeached. — Smith takes control of the colony. — Sketcli 
of his life. — The settlement flourislies under his care. — He explores the country, and pro- 
cures supplies. — The Indians furnish provisions. — Smith explores tlie Chickahominy. — 
Is captured by the Indians. — Saves his life by stratagem. — Is carried to Orapax. — Tlience 
to Pamunkey. — Is condemned to death. — And saved by Pocahontas. — He remains in 
Powliatan's household. — Is liberated. — Returns to Jamestown. — Terrifies the savages. — 
Deplorable condition of tlie settlement. — Plot to abandon the place. — Newport arrives 
with new immigrants. — Who are as bad as the others. — Tlie gold-hunters go abroad. — 
And find mica in the sand of James River. — A ship is loaded with dirt and sent to Eng- 
land. — The planting season goes by. — Sraitii makes his great exploration of the Chesa- 
peake. — And maps the country. — Returns. — Is elected president. — Newport arrives with 
more immigrants and supplies. — Progress of the colony 95-104. 

CHAPTER X. 

VIRGINIA. — THE SECOND CHARTER. 

King James grants a new charter. — Changes are made in the form of government. — A 
new council is organized. — Delaware is chosen governor. — The other officers. — A fleet 
■with five hundred emigrants sails for America. — Encounters a storm. — Two vessels are 
wrecked. — Seven ships reach .Jamestown. — The commissioners are left on the Bermuda 
Islands. — Smith retains the presidency. — New settlements are projected. — Smith is 
wounded. — Delegates his authority to Percy. — Returns to England. — Colony suffers after 
his departure. — ^The starving time. — Gates and his companions reach Virginia. — Tlie 
settlement is abandoned. — Delaware meets the colony. — And ]iersuades them to return. — 
Prosperity begins. — But Delaware falls sick. — .^nd returns to England. — Percy is deputy. 
— Dale arrives as governor. — Brings immigrants. — Writes for supplies and new colo- 
nists. — Wiio arrive. — The colony improves. — Gates is made governor. — The right of 
private property is recognized. — And the settlements enlarged. . . . 104-107 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XI. 

VIRGINIA. — THE THIRD CHARTER, 

The London Company receive a third patent. — The colony had proved unprofitable. 
— Argali kidnaps Pocahontas. — Who is married to Rolfe. — They visit England. — And 
leave descendants in Virginia. — Argali destroys the French settlements in Acadia. — 
And reduces the Dutch colony of Manhattan. — Dale becomes governor of Virginia. — ■ 
Tobacco is the staple of Jamestown. — And is used for money. — Argali is chosen gov- 
ernor. — Delaware sails for America. — And dies. — ^Yeardley supersedes Argali. — Abolishes 
martial law. — Establishes the House of Burgesses. — Slavery is introduced. — Society is 
low. — Women are sent over. — And married to the colonists. — A constitulion is granted. 
— Wyatt becomes governor. — Settlements .spread abroad. — The Indians become jealous. 
— And massacre the people. — But are defeated. — The company is opposed by the king. — 
A commission is appointed. — Who report against the company. — And its charter is re- 
voked. — But liberty is planted in Virginia 108-113 

CHAPTER XII. 

VIRGINIA. — THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 

Royal government is established. — But the administration is unchanged. — Charles I. 
becomes king. — Recognizes the Virginia Assembly. — -Yeardley is re-elected governor. — 
Dies. — West is chosen by the council. — Harvey arrives from England. — Land-grants vex 
the people. — Harvey is impeached. — But is sustained by the king. — Wyatt succeeds. — 
Englisii Revolution breaks out. — King Charles is beheaded. — Monarchy is abolislied. — 
Cromwell becomes Protector. — Virginia inclines to royalty. — Berkeley becomes gov- 
ernor. — The Puritans are persecuted. — An Indian war arises. — The savages are beaten. 
— Virginia refuses to acknowledge Parliament. — Cromwell restricts her commerce. — 
Sends a fleet to America. — And the Virginians submit. — 'Favorable terms are granted. 
— Peace continues during the commonwealth. — The Burgesses elect three governors. — 
Berkeley is thus chosen. — Accepts. — But at the Restoration renounces his acceptance. 
— And issues writs in the king's name. — Tyranny follows. — Commerce is restricted. — 
The Virginians complain. — In vain. — Charles II. gives away Virginia lands. — And 
finally the whole State to Arlington and Culpepper. — The Quakers and the Baptists are 
persecuted. — Taxes are odious. — Tiie people rebel. — An Indian war is the excuse. — 
And Berkeley's tyranny tlie cause. — Bacon heads the insurrection. — The Indians are 
punished. — Berkeley abdicates. — Returns. — Captures Jamestown. — Bacon takes the 
place, and burns it. — Dies. — The patriots are dispersed. — And the leaders hanged. — 
A worse despotism is established. — Culpepper becomes governor. — Treats Virginia as 
an estate. — Arlington surrenders his claim. — The king recalls the grant. — And Vir- 
ginia becomes a royal province. — Howard and Nicholson administer the government. — 
William and Mary College founded. — Andros becomes governor. — Future history of Vir- 
ginia 114-123 

CHAPTER XIII. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 

The Pilgrims are saved by the coming of S2:)ring. — Health is restored. — Miles Stan- 
dish is sent out to reconnoitre. — Samoset and Squanto come to Plymouth. — A treaty is 
made with Massasoit. — Other tribes acknowledge the sovereignty of England. — -Canon- 
icus is overawed. — An unfruitful summer. — Immigrants arive. — Are quartered on the 
colony. — The Pilgrims are destitute. — The new-comers found Weymouth. — The Indi- 



CONTENTS. xi 

ans plan a massacre. — And are punislied by Standish. — Weymouth is abandoned. — A 
plentiful harvest. — Robinson remains at Leyden. — The colonial enterprise proves un- 
profitable. — The managers sell out to the colonists. — The Established Church is fa- 
vored. — Salem is founded. — The Company of Massachusetts Bay is chartered by the 
king and the council. — Boston is founded. — The government is transferred to America. 
— A large immigration in 1630. — Winthrop is governor. — Cambridge is founded. — 
Watertown. — Eoxbury. — Dorchester. — The colony suffers greatly. — Suflfrage is restricted. 
— Williams pi'otests. — .\nd is banished. — Goes among the Indians. — Is kindly received. 
— Tarries at Seekonk. — Removes. — And founds Providence. — A representative govern- 
ment is established. — The ballot-box is introduced. — Three thousand immigrants ar- 
rive. — Vane and Peters are the leaders. — Concord is founded. — Colonies remove to the 
Connecticut. — Religious controversies. — Mrs. Hutchinson is banished. — She and her 
friends establish a republic on Rliode Island. — Harvard College is founded at Cam- 
bridge. — A printing-press is set up. — Eliot, Welde, and Mather translate the Psalms. — 
Liberty flourishes in Massachusetts. — Emigration is hindered by England. 123-133. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — THE UNION. 

Progress of New England. — Circumstances favor a union of the colonies. — Massa- 
chusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven are confederated. — No other colonies 
are admitted. — A Body of Liberties is formed. — The two legislative branches are sepa- 
rated. — Tiie English Revolution is favorable to New England. — Vane and others de- 
fend the rights of tiie colonies.— The Parliament demands the cliarter of Massacliusetts. 
— Which is I'efused. — Cromwell the friend of Massachusetts. — Maine is annexed. — 
Early settlements in Maine. — The Quakers arrive at Boston. — Are persecuted and ban- 
i.shed. — The death-penalty is passed against them. — Four persons are executed. — Reac- 
tion against the law. — And the law is abolished. — News of the Restoration reaches 
Boston. — Whalley and GofTe arrive. — And escape to Connecticut. — Vane and Peters are 
executed. — The Navigation Act is passed. — Its bearing on the commerce of New Eng- 
land. — War between England and Holland. — Charles II. attempts to subvert the colo- 
nial charters. — Commissioners are sent to Massachusetts. — Are met with resistance. — 
And defeated in tlieir objects. — The colony prospers. .... 133-139. 

CHAPTER XV. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — KING PHILIP's WAR. 

Philip becomes king of the Wampanongs. — Causes of jealousy and war. — Alexan- 
der's imprisonment. — Outrages are committed. — The war begins. — Swanzey is attacked. 
— Philip is pursued to Mount Hope. — Escapes to Tivei'ton. — Is driven from the Narra- 
gansett country. — Goes to the Nipmucks. — A genei-al war ensues.— The Narragansetts 
are obliged to remain neutral. — English ambassadt)rs are massacred at Brookfield. — The 
town is attacked. — Rescued. — Abandoned. — Burned. — Deerfield is partly destroyed. — 
Lathrop attempts to bring off the harvests. — Is ambushed at Bloody Brook. — The battle. 
— Hadley is attacked. — Rescued by GofFe. — Springfield is assaulted. — And destroyed. 
— Hadley is burned. — The savages are defeated at Hatfield. — Philip repairs to the Nar- 
ragansetts. — The English declare war. — And invade the country. — Philip and his forces 
take refuge in a swamp. — Are surrounded. — Attacked. — And utterly routed. — Ruin of 
the Narragansett nation. — The war continues on the frontiers. — Towns and villages are 
dei^troyed. — The savages grow feeble. — Canonchet is taken. — And put to death. — Philip's 
family are captured. — And sold as slaves. — Himself hunted down. — And shot. — Sub- 



xii CONTENTS. 

mission of the tribes. — Losses of New England. — The English government refuses help. 
— Randolph comes to abridge the liberties of Massachusetts. — And is defeated. — Mas- 
sachusetts purchases Maine of the heirs of Gorges. — Difficulties concerning New Hamp- 
shire. — A royal government is established in the province. — Cranfield's administration. 
— The king's hostility. — The charter of Massachusetts is annulled. — King Charles dies. 
— James II. appoints Dudley governor. — And then Andres. -The liberties of the peo- 
ple are destroyed. — Tiie government of Andros is extended over New England.- — But 
tlie charter of Connecticut is saved. — The Revolution of 1688. — Andros is seized, and 
imprisoned. — And the colonies restore their liberties. .... 139-147. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 

King William's War begins. — The causes. — Dover is attacked and burned. — Pema- 
quid is destroyed. — And then Schenectady. — And Salmon Falls. — An expedition is 
planned against Canada. — Phipps takes Port Royal. — But fails at Quebec. — And re- 
turns. — Paper money is issued. — Failure of the expedition against Montreal. — Phipps 
goes to England. — And returns as royal governor. — Oystei' River is destroyed. — Haver- 
hill is attacked and burned. — Mrs. Dustin's captivity. — The treaty of Ryswick. — The 
witciicraft excitement begins at Salem. — The causes. — Parris and Mather. — The trials. 
— Convicti(ms. — Executions. — The reaction. — Mather's book. — Reflections. 147-153. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

MA.SSACHUSETTS.— AVARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 

Causes of Queen Anne's War. — Field of operations in America. — A treaty is made 
with the Five Nations. — The conflict begins.- — ^Deerfield is burned. — And tlie inhab- 
itants carried captive to Canada. — Barbarities of the Indians. — An expedition is sent 
against Port Royal. — The attempt fails. — Is renewed in 1710. — Port Royal is taken. — 
And named Annajiolis. — Preparations are made for invading Canada. — Nicholson com- 
mands the land forces. — And Walker the fleet. — The squadron is delayed. — Stojjs at 
Gaspe Bay. — Is shattered by a storm in tlie St. Lawrence. — Returns in disgrace. — The 
expedition by land is abandoned. — A treaty is made at Utrecht. — A separate peace is 
concluded with the Indians. — The people of Massachusetts resist the royal governor. 
— Causes of King George's War. — The conflict begins. — Importance of Louisburg. — Its 
conquest is planned by Shirley. — The colonies contribute men and means. — The expe- 
dition leaves Boston. — Is detained at Canseau. — Joined by Warren's fleet. — Reaches 
Gabarus Bay. — Invests -Louisburg. — Tiie siege. — The surrender. — Cape Breton submits. 
— France attempts to reconquer Louisburg. — Treaty of Aix-la-ClKi|jelle. — Character of 
the Puritans 153-160. 

CHAPTER XVIIL 

NEW YORK. — SETTLEMENT. 

Character of Sir Henry Hudson.— The East India Company govern Manhattan. — A 
colony is sent from Holland. — A charter is granted to the W^est India Company.— The 
Walloons arrive at New Amsterdam. — May builds Fort Nassau.— And Jori.s, Fort 
Orange. — Civil government begins in New Netherland. — May is governor. — And then 
Verhulst. — And Minuit. — Manhattan is purchased. — And fortified. — Fiiemlly relations 
are established between the W^alloons and the Puritans. — The Dutch devote themselves 
to the fur-trade. — Growth of the colony. — A charter is granted. — The patroons. — Five 
manors are laid out. — Delaware is colonized. — And then abandoned. — Van Twiller sue- 



CONTENTS. xiii 

ceeds Minuit. — A fort is built at Hartford. — The English claim the Connecticut. — Swe- 
den purposes to plant an American colony. — The project is delayed. — But renewed by 
Minuit. — A Swedish colony reaches the Delaware. — Settles at Christiana. — Is prosper- 
ous. — And New JjTetherland is jealous. — Fort Nassau is rebuilt. — Printz removes to Tin- 
icuni. — Tiie Indians are provoked by the Dutch.-^ War breaks out. — A desultory contest. 
— Tlie Mohawks come. — Kieft massacres the Algonquins. — The war continues. — Fate of 
Mrs. Hutchinson. — Underhill conquers the Indians. — Kieft the author of the war. — 
De Vries succeeds him. 160-167. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

NEW YORK. — ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. 

Stuy vesant is appointed governor. — Peace established with the Indians. — Free trade 
succeeds monopoly. — Growth of the colony. — A boundary is established between New 
England and New Netherland. — The Dutch again claim New Sweden. — Build Fort 
Casimir. — The place is captured by the Swedes. — Stuyvesant conquers and annexes New 
Sweden.— Tlie Algonquins rebel. — And are subdued. — Tlie Indians of Ulster rise. — 
Burn Esopus. — Are punished. — Stuyvesant is troubled about his boundaries. — Domes- 
tic difficulties. — -New Netherland lags.— The Dutch prefer English laws. — Tlie i^rovince 
is granted to the Duke of York. — The duke makes good his claim. — Sends out Nicolls. 
— And conquers New Netherland. 167-171. 

/ 
CHAPTER XX. 

NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 

Nicolls settles the boundaries of New York. — New Jersey is granted to Berkeley 
and Carteret. — Is claimed by Nicolls. — But the claim is set aside. — The Territories. — 
The Dutch claim liberty. — Are disappointed. — New land-titles are issued. — Lovelace 
succeeds Nicolls. — And is resisted by the people. — His tyranny. — Friendship of tlie 
English and the Dutch. — War with Holland. — Evertsen reconquers New York. — But 
tlie province is restored to England. — Andros begins his government. — Proves himself 
a despot.— Claims the country from tlie Connecticut to Maryland. — Goes to Saybrook. 
— Is baffled by Captain Bull. — Attempts to overawe New Jersey. — And fails. — Delaware 
is separated from New Y'ork. — And joined to Pennsylvania. — Dongan becomes gov- 
ernor. — The right of representation is conceded. — Character of the Constitution. — A 
treaty is made with the Iroquois. — The Duke of York becomes king. — And overthi-ows 
colonial liberties. — Andros is sent out as governor of New England.— Usurps the gov- 
ernments of all the colonies north of the Delaware. — Leisler's insurrection. — The prov- 
ince yields to his authority. — Schenectady is burned. — Ingoldsby arrives as governor. 
— Leisler and Milborne are arrested. — Tried. — And hanged. — The Iroquois treaty is 
renewed. — The Indians make war on the Fi-ench. — The assembly declares against ar- 
bitrary authority. — Fletcher becomes governor. — Attempts to usurp the government 
of Connecticut and New Jersey. — Is defeated. — Effort to establish the Episcopal 
Church. — The project fails. — The French invade New Yoi-k. — Are repelled. — Bello- 
mont becomes governor. — The career of Captain Kidd. — Cornbury succeeds Bellomont. 
— New Jersey is annexed to New York. — Cornbury's fraudulent administration. — He 
is overthrown. — And succeeded by Lovelace. — An unsuccessful expedition is made 
against Montreal. — The fleet also fails. — New York is in debt. — The treaty of Utrecht. 
— The Tuscarora migration. — A fort is built at Oswego. — The French fortify Niagara 
and Crown Point. — ^Crosby is sent out as governor. — Assails the freedom of the press. 
— Tiie trial of Zenger. — The negro plot. — French invasions of New Y'^ork. — Treaty of 
Aix-la-Chapelle. — Slow growth of the province. — Prospects. — Reflections. . 172-183. 



xiv CONTENTS. 

COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. 



MINOR EASTERN COLONIES. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Connecticut is granted to Warwick. — And transferred to Say-and-Seal. — The Dutch 
fortify Hartford. — The Puritans claim the country. — Send an expedition up the Con- 
necticut. — Found Windsor. — A colony leaves Boston. — Settles on the Connecticut. — 
Winthrop founds Saybrook. — The English control the river. — The Pequod War. — The 
Narragansetts make a treaty with the English. — The Pequods do likewise. — Violate the 
compact. — Attempt an alliance with the Narragansetts. — Williams defeats the project. 
— The Mohegans join tlie English. — A massacre at Wethersfield. — Mason is chosen to 
command. — A force is organized. — Proceeds against the Perjuods. — And destroys the 
nation. — The coast of Long Island Sound is explored. — New Haven is founded. — The 
Bible for a constitution. — Civil government begins in Connecticut. — Character of the 
laws. — Connecticut joins the Union. — Saybrook is annexed. — A treaty is made with 
Stuyvesant. — War with New Netherland is tiireatened. — King Charles is recognized. 
—Winthrop is sent to England. — Obtains a charter. — Returns. — Is chosen governor. — 
Growth of the colony. — Andros attempts to assume the government. — Is thwarted at Say- 
brook. — Returns after twelve years. — Invades the assembly at Hartford. — Subverts the 
government.— The charter is saved. — Fletcher enters the colony. — Is baffled by Wads- 
worth. — Yale College is founded. — Development of the province. — Reflections. 184-192. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

Williams founds Rhode Island. — Sketch of his life.— The Baptist Church is or- 
ganized. — Civil government begins. — Character of the institutions. — Massachusetts re- 
fuses to recall Williams from exile. — A colony at Portsmouth. — The Jewish common- 
wealth. — Newport is founded.— The Norse tower.— A democracy is established. — Rhode 
Island is rejected by the Union. — Williams procures a charter. — The island of Rhode 
Island secedes. — Is reannexed. — Patriotism of Williams. — Charles II. reissues the 
charter.— Prosperity of Rhode Island. — Andros overturns the government.- Is over- 
thrown. — Henry Bull is governor. — Reflections. 193-198. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

New Hampshire is granted to Gorges and Mason. — And colonized. — Settlements 
on the Piscataqua. — The province is divided. — Wheelwright purchases the Indian 
title.— Mason's patent is confirmed. — He dies. — Difficulties ensue. — Exeter is founded. 
— New Hampshire is united with Massachusetts. — The Masonian claim is revived. — 
The question is decided.— The two provinces are separated. — Cranfield is appointed 
governor. — A general assembly is convened. — Character of the laws. — The royal officers 



CONTENTS. XV 



are resisted. — Andros assumes the government. — New Hampshire and Massachusetts 
are united. — Governed by Bellomont. — Finally separated. — The Masonian claim again. 

How decided. — Suffering of the colony in the Indian wars. — Character of the people. 

— Keflections on the New England colonists 198-202. 



COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. 



IIINOB BIIDDLE COLONIES. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

NEW JERSEY. 

Early settlements in New Jersey.— At Bergen.— And Fort Nassau.— Grants and 
purchases. — The province is given to Berkeley and Carteret. — Nicolls makes a grant to 
Puritans. — Elizabethtown is founded. — Nicolls contends with the Carterets. — The pro- 
prietors frame a constitution. — Character of the laws. — The quit-rents. — The colonists 
resist payment. — Philip Carteret is deposed. — And James Carteret becomes governor. — 
New Jersey is retaken by Holland. — And again ceded to England. — The Duke of York 
has his charter renewed. — Andros comes as governor. — Carteret resists. — Berkeley sells 
West Jersey to Fenwick. — Philip Carteret and Andros dispute about the Eastern prov- 
ince. — Laurie, Lucas, and Penn buy West Jersey. — Object of the jiurchase. — New Jersey 
is divided. — Line of division. The proprietors of West Jersey issue the Concessions. — 
The Quakers colonize West Jersey. — The Duke of York claims the country. — Sir AVil- 
liam Jones decides against him. — Andros'.s claim to East .Jersey is annulled. — The Qua- 
kers convene an assembly. — And frame a constitution. — East Jersey is purchased by the 
Friends. — Barclay is governor. — The two Jerseys submit to Andros.— ;And afterward 
regain their liberties. — Conflicting claims to the country. — Discord. — The proprietors 
surrender their rights of government to the Crown. — New Jersey becomes a royal 
province. — Is attached to New York under Cornbury. — The people petition for a sepa- 
ration. — AVhich is granted. — Morris becomes governor. — New Jersey not injured by 
Indian wars. — Eeflections. . . 203-208. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

The Friends are persecuted in Europe. — Penn designs to plant a Quaker State in 
America. — Charles II. grants the charter of Penn.sylvania. — Penn relinquishes his 
claims on the British government. — Declares his purposes. — Writes a letter to. the 
Swedes. — Invites emigration. — A colony departs under Markham. — The Indians are 
assured of friendship. — Penn frames a constitution. — The Duke of York surrenders 
Delaware. — Extent of Penn's dominion. — He leaves England with a second colony. — 
Sketch of Jiis life. — He addresses the people at New Castle. — Passes through the 
Jerseys to New York.— Returns. — INIakes the great treaty with the Indians. — Which is 
kept inviolate. — A convention is held at Chester. — A provisional constitution is 
adopted. — Penn visits Lord Baltimore. — Philadelphia is founded. — Growth of the 
2 



xvi CONTENTS. 

city. — Penn sails for England. — Lloyd remains as governor. — Delaware secedes. — Penn 
adheres to the Stuarts. — Is imprisoned. — His province is taken away. — But afterward 
restored. — Penn revisits America. — The constitution is modified. — Delaware is finally 
separated. — Penn returns to England. — Condition of his province. — Hamilton and Evans 
deputy governors. — Conduct of the latter. — He is removed from office. — Succeeded by 
Gookin. — Peun's trials in England. — He dies. — ^His sons become proprietors of Penn- 
sylvania. — The province is purchased by the colonial assembly. — Reflections. 209-215. 



COLONIAL HISTORY— Continued. 



MINOR SOUTHERN COLONIES. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MARYLAND. 

Clayborne is commissioned by the London Company. — Explores the Chesapeake. — 
Establishes trading-posts. — Sketch of Sir George Calvert's life. — He plans a Catholic 
colony. — Sends a company to Newfoundland. — Goes to Virginia. — Refuses the oath. — 
Returns to England. — Obtains a charter. — Character and extent of the patent. — Calvert 
dies. — Sir Cecil succeeds him. — Tlie name of Maryland. — A colony is sent out under 
Leonard Calvert. — Reaches the Chesapeake. — Ascends the Potomac. — Returns. — And 
founds St. Mary's. — Friendly relations are established with the Indians. — Growth of 
the colony. — An assembly is convened. — Clayborne incites an insurrection. — Is beaten. 
— Escapes into Virginia. — Is sent to England. — Representative government is estab- 
lished. — An Indian war breaks out. — Clayborne returns to America. — Leads a second 
insurrection. — Overthrows the government. — The rebellion is suppressed. — Tolerant 
character of the laws. — Division of the legislature. — Commissioners are appointed by 
Parliament. — Dissensions of Stone and Clayborne. — The civil war between the Catholics 
and Protestants. — Fendall's rebellion. — IMaryland declares independence. — Fendall is 
condemned. — Charles Calvert is governor. — The Protestants gain control of the State. 
— Maryland becomes a royal province. — The heir of Lord Baltimore is restored to his 
rights. — The Calverts rule the colony until the Revolution. — Reflections. . 216-224. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

NORTH CAROLIXA. 

The name of Carolina. — Early explorations. — The country is granted to Clarendon 
and others. — Albemarle and Clarendon colonies are founded. — Cooper and Locke 
frame the grand model. — Its establishment impossible. — Clarendon county is aban- 
doned. — The proprietors oppress the colonists. — A rebellion ensues. — Governor Cul- 
pepper goes to England. — And defends the people. — Clarendon sells his rights. — Sothel 
is .sent out as governor. — His tyranny. — He is overthrown. — Ludwell succeeds. — And 
then AValker. — The colony prospers. — Decline of the Indian tribes. — A war breaks out. 
— Barnwell's expedition. — Peace. — And war again. — Moore invades the country of the 
Tuscaroras. — The savages are beaten. — The nation is divided. — The Tuscarora migra- 
tion. — Division of the Carolinas. — Character of the people. . . . 224-229. 



CONTENTS. xvii 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

A colony is sent out under "West and Sayle. — Reaches Beaufort. — But settles on 
Ashley River. — Locke's constitution is rejected. — And a simple government adopted. — 
West becomes governor. — And then Yeamans. — Slavery is introduced. — Rapid immi- 
gration. — Charleston is founded. — An Indian war arises. — Immigrants arrive from 
England, Scotland, and Ireland. — The Edict of Nantes is revoked. — The Huguenots 
flock to South Carolina. — Colleton becomes governor. — Declares martial law. — Is over- 
thrown. — Sothel takes the office. — Is banished. — Ludwell next. — Who retires to Vir- 
ginia. — The proprietors abrogate the grand model. — The Quaker Archdale. — His wise 
administration. — Moore succeeds. — The war with Florida. — Moore and Daniel attempt 
to take St. Augustine. — And fail. — Moore makes a successful campaign against the In- 
dians. — The Church of England is established. — The dissenters are disfranchised. — But 
the act is revoked by Parliament. — The Spaniards besiege Charleston. — And are re- 
pelled. — War with the Yamassees. — The savages are conquered. — Popular revolution 
in South Carolina. — Nicholson is governor. — The proprietors sell Carolina to the 
king. — A royal government is established. — Character of the people. . 230-237. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 



Georgia founded in benevolence. — Oglethorpe the founder, — Sketch of his life. — 
He leads forth a colony. — And founds Savannah. — The friendly natives. — A treaty is 
made with the Muskhogees. — Immigrants arrive from various parts of Europe. — Ogle- 
thorpe goes to England. — Returns. — Tlie Moravians. — The Wesleys. — And Whitefield. — 
Conflicting claims of Georgia and Florida. — Oglethorpe builds forts. — Is commissioned 
as general. — War breaks out. — The governor besieges St. Augustine. — And fails. — The 
Spaniards invade Georgia. — Oglethorpe's stratagem. — The battle of Bloody Marsh. — 
The Spaniards are defeated. — And retreat to Florida. — The governor returns to Eng- 
land. — Slavery is introduced. — The prohibitory law is repealed. — Growtli of Georgia. — 
Reflections on the thirteen colonies 238-244. 



COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. 



FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

CAUSES. 

The colonies begin to act together. — A sense of common danger unites them. — The 
French and Indian War arises. — Causes considered. — Conflicting territorial claims. — 
English colonies on the sea-board. — French colonies in the interior. — France pui'poses 
to confine the English to the Atlantic slope. — French settlements result from the efforts 



xviii CONTENTS. 

of the Jesuits. — Missions are establislied on the lakes.— Joliet and Marquette discover the 
Mississippi. — Descend the river. — Keturn to Michigan. — La Salle passes through the 
lakes.— Descends the Illinois. — Goes to Canada. — Returns. — And explores the Missis- 
sippi to the gulf. — Sails for France. — Keturns with a colony. — Reaches Texas. — Sets 
out for Canada. — Is murdered. — French posts are established. — The Ohio valley to be 
occupied.— The animosity of France and England leads to war. — The frontiersmen of 
the two nations come in conflict. — The Ohio Company is organized. — Obtains a grant 
of land. — Bienville explores and claims tlie Ohio valley. — Gist traverses the country to 
the falls of the Ohio. — The French fortify Le Boeuf and Venango. — Attack a British 
post. — Gist makes a second exploration. — An English colony on the Youghiogheny. — 
The Indians favor the English. — The Half-King goes to Erie. — Tjie chiefs confer with 
Franklin. ^Dinwiddle sends a despatch to St. Pierre. — Washington is chosen for the 
mission. — Sets out by way of Will's Creek to the site of Pittsburg. — And thence to Le 
Boeuf. — Washington confers with St. Pierre. — And returns to Virginia. — Hardships 
of the journey. — Trent begins a fort at the fork of the Oliio. — The French capture the 
place. — And build Du Quesne. — Washington is sent to retake the fort. . 245-255. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

CAMPAIGNS OF AVASniXGTON AND BRADDOCK. 

Washington marches to Great Meadows. — Builds Fort Necessity. — Attacks and 
defeats Jumonville. — Extends the road toward Du Quesne. — De Villiers approaches. — 
Attacks Fort Necessity. — And compels a surrender. — An American congress assembles 
at Albany. — Franklin plans a union. — The colonies reject the constitution. — France 
sends soldiers to America. — Braddock is sent by England. — He confers with the gov- 
ernors. — plans four compaigns. — Marches his army to Fort Cumberland. — Proceeds 
against Du Quesne. — Approaches the fort. — Meets the French and Indians.- — And is 
terribly defeated. — Washington saves the remnant of the army. — Death of Braddock. 
— Dunbar retreats. — Destroj's the stores.— Evacuates Fort Cumberland. — Retires to 
Philadelphia 255-261. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

RUIN OF ACADIA. 

Nova Scotia under English rule. — Lawrence fears an insurrection. — Is authorized 
to subdue the French inhabitants. — The English fleet leaves Bo.ston. — The French 
forts on the Bay of Fundy. — The fleet arrives at Beau-Sejour. — Tlie place is besieged. 
— And obliged to surrender. — The other forts capitulate. — The British officers deter- 
mine to exile the inhabitants. — The country is laid waste. — And the people carried into 
banishment 261-264. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

EXPEDITIONS OF SHIRLEY AND JOHNSON. 

A campaign is planned against Niagara. — Shirley commands. — Proceeds to Os- 
wego. — Wastes the time. — ^larches liomeward. — Oswego is rebuilt. — Johnson and Ly- 
man go against the French on Lake Champlain. — Build Fort Edward. — Form a camp 
on Lake George. — Dieskau approaches. — Proceeds by way of Wood Creek against Fort 
Edward. — Meets the English. — And drives them to the camp. — The battle. — The 
French are defeated. — Dieskau is killed. — The English lose heavily. — Johnson builds 
Fort William Henrv. — The French reinforce their forts 264-266. 



CONTENTS. xix 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

TWO YEARS OF DISASTER. 

Shirley becomes commander-in-chief.— Washington repels the Indians. — Franklin 
defends Pennsylvania.— The campaigns of 1756 are planned. — The military forces of 
America are consolidated. — Loudoun is commander-in-chief. — He and Abercrombie 
arrive in New York -with soldiers and supplies. — England declares war. — Abercrombie 
goes to Albany. — And stays there. — Montcalm besieges and captures Oswego. — The 
Delawares revolt. — And are punished. — Loudoun burrows at Albany. — The French 
strengthen their forts. — The conquest of Louisburg is planned. — Loudoun proceeds to 
Halifax. — ITolbourn joins him. — They muster and do nothing. — Loudoun returns to 
New York. — Montcalm and the Iroquois besiege and capture Fort William Henry. — 
The Indians massacre the prisoners. — Eeview of the situation. 267-270. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 

Pitt becomes prime minister. — Loudoun is deposed. — Abercrombie succeeds. — An 
able corps of generals sent to America. — Three campaigns are planned. — Amherst and 
Wolfe proceed against Louisburg. — Besiege and take the fortress. — Abercrombie attacks 
Ticonderoga. — And is repulsed Avith great loss. — Bradstreet takes Fort Frontenac. — 
Montcalm advises peace. — Forbes marches against Du Quesne. — Grant is defeated. — 
Washington leads the advance. — The French abandon and burn Du Quesne. — The 
place named Pittsburg. — Amherst commander-in-chief. — Relative strength of the Eng- 
lish and the French. — Pitt plans the conquest of Canada. — Prideaux defeats the French 
before Niagara. — And captures the fortress. — Amherst takes Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point.- — Wolfe proceeds against Quebec. — Reaches the Island of Orleans. — Besieges the 
city. — Tlie Lower Town is destroyed. — Montcalm's position.— The battle of Montmor- 
enci. — Wolfe's fever. — He ascends the river. — Plans an assault. — Discover's Wolfe's 
Cove.— Gains the Plains of Abraham. — Fights a decisive battle. — Defeats the French. — 
Is slain. — Quebec capitulates. — And then Montreal. — The Cherokee revolt is quelled. — 
The effect of the conquest of Canada. The French outposts ai-e included in the sur- 
render of Montreal. — Rogers is sent to take possession of the forts. — He reaches De- 
, troit. — Receives the surrender of Forts Miami and Ouatanow. — Mackinaw, Green Bay 
and St. Marie afterward capitulate. — The English treat the Red men badly. — The lat- 
ter become revengeful. — They make an attempt against Detroit. — And are baffled. — 
Conspiracies grow rife. — Pontiac organizes a confederacy. — Makes a plot for the cap- 
ture of Detroit. — And fails. — An unsuccessful .siege ensues. — The savages are victorious 
in other quarters. — They capture most of the western forts. — The confederacy breaks 
up. — Pontiac is abandoned. — And killed. — The war continues on the ocean. — England 
is victorious. — A treaty of peace. — The terms 270-279. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. 

The thirteen colonies. — Institutions. — Population. — Distribution of the same. — 
Growth of a national character and sentiment. — Education. — Character of the same in 
New England. — In the South. — Colleges. — Newspapers. — Books and men. — Absence of 
roads. — Agriculture the predominating pursuit. — Ship-building and manufactures. — 
What the British Board of Trade was good for. — Reflections on the character of the 
Anglo-American colonists 2S0-284. 



CONTENTS. 

PART IV. 

KEVOLUTION AND COXFEDERATION. 

A. B. 1775-1789. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Importance of the revolution. — The question decided by it. — Character of the con- 
test. — The causes. — Great Britain claims the right of arbitrary government. — France 
incites the rebellion. — The disjiosition of the Americans encourages independence. — 
Public opinion leads to tlie same result. — The king provokes a conflict. — Parliament 
passes oppressive acts. — The question of taxation. — Nature of the dispute. — The Im- 
portation Act. — Its provisions. — Writs of Assistance are issued. — And resisted. — Tlie 
sugar and wine duties. — Tlie colonists refuse to p?y them. — A Stamp Act is propo.sed. — 
Indignation in the colonies. — The question of the Indian war-debt arises. — The Stamp 
Act is passed. — Its provisions. — The news is received in America. — The wrath of the 
people. — Scene in tlie House of Burgesses. — Patrick Henry's speecli. — Passage of the 
resolutions. — Otlier assemblies pursue a similar course. — The first Colonial Congress. — 
A declaration of Rights is adopted. — Memorials to the king and Parliament. — The 
Stamp Act is resisted. — And the stamps destroyed. — Suspension of business. — The Sons 
of Liberty. — A non-importation agreement is made. — The wrath of England. — Camden 
and Pitt defend tlie colonists. — Repeal of the Stamp Act. — Joy follows. — Town.shend re- 
news the scheme. — Secures the passage of a gla.ss and tea-tax. — The Americans resist 
the act. — Circular of Massachusetts. — Seizure of a sloop at Boston. — Insurrection of the 
jpeople. — Gage takes possession of Boston. — Is ordered to arrest the patriots.— Rebellion 
of Virginia and North Carolina. — Conflict at New York. — The Boston massacre. — Re- 
peal of the duties. — Passage of the Salary Act. — Burning of the Gaspee. — Stratagem 
of the ministry. — Tea is sliipped to America. — Is spoiled at Charleston. — Refused at 
New York and Pliiladelphia. — And poured overboard at Boston. — Passage of the Port 
Bill. — Opposition of the Burgesses. — The ciiarter of Massachnsetts is annulled. — The 
people declared rebels. — The second Congress assembles. — Resolutions and addresses. 
— A British army is ordered to America. — Boston Neck fortified. — Military stores re- 
moved. — The assembly refuses to disband. — War becomes inevitable. . 285-296. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE BEGINNING. 

The patriots remove their stores. — Gage plans to destroy them. — Pitcairn is sent for 
that purpose. — Dawes and Revere arouse the people. — The British reacli Lexington. — 
Fire on the patriots. — Proceed to Concord. — Ransack the village. — Are attacked. — And 
driven back to Boston. — The country is fired. — The pati-iots gather at Cambridge. — 
Allen and Arnold march against Ticonderoga. — And capture the fortress. — The British 
are reinforced. — Proclamation of Gage. — His plans. — The Americans fortify Breed's 
Hill. — Amazement of the British. — The battle. — Excitement of tlie people. — The North 
Carolinians declare independence. — -The Colonial Congress assembles. — An appeal to 
the king. — W^ashington commander-in-chief. — Sketch of his life. — His duties and em- 



CONTENTS. 



XXI 



ban'ai5sments. — Organization of the army. — Eoyal rule is overthrown. — Struggle with 
Dunmore. — Expedition against Quebec. — Led by Schuyler, Montgomery and Arnold. — 
Schuyler falls sick. — Montgomery takes Montreal. — Hardships of Arnold's march. — He 
and Montgomery unite against Quebec. — The town is invested. — The assault and defeat. — 
Fall of Montgomery. — The exi)edition is abandoned. — Sketch of Montgomery. 297-305. 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE WORK OF '76. 

The king answers the colonies. — Howe succeeds Gage. — Siege of Boston. — The Brit- 
ish evacuate the city. — The Americans enter. — Public rejoicings. — Washington goes to 
New York. — Clinton threatens the city. — Cornwallis and Parker proceed against 
Charleston. — Eising of the Carolinians. — The attack on Moultrie. — Repulse of the Brit- 
ish. — Distresses of the army. — Great Britain hires tlie Hessians. — And makes new lev- 
ies. — Exasperation of the patriots. — The question of independence. — Lee's resolutions. 
— Debates. — A committee is appointed. — The Declaration of Independence adopted. — 
And received with enthusiasm. — Its leading principles. — Howe returns. — Lands an 
army. — Attempts to open negotiations. — And fails. — The British advance on Long Is- 
land. — Fight a battle. — And defeat the patriots. — Washington saves the army. — Dis- 
couragement of the people. — The British take New York. — Negotiations are again at- 
tempted. — But fail. — Movements of the two armies. — Battle of White Plains. — Dispo- 
sition of the American forces. — Notice of Hamilton. — The capture of Fort Washington 
— Fort Lee is taken. — The Americans retreat across New .Jersey. — The pursuit ends. — 
Enlargement of Washington's powers. — British successes in Rhode Island. — Lee's cap- 
ture. — AVashington recruits his army. — Recrosses the Delaware. — Defeats the British at 
Trenton. — Effect of the battle. — Alarm of the British. — Robert Morris to the rescue. — 
W^ashington threatens the British jiosts 305-317. 

CHAPTER XL. 

OPERATIONS OP '77. 

Tlie British advance against Trenton. — Washington withdraws his forces. — Attacks 
Princeton. — And wins a victory. — Takes post at Morristown.— The British at New 
Brunswick. — Cornwallis on the defensive. — Destruction of stores at Peekskill. — Lincoln 
attacked at Boundbrook. — Tryon burns Danbury. — Is attacked and driven away. — 
Meigs takes Sag Harbor. — Washington advances into New Jersey. — The British 
threaten Philadelphia. — Retire to Amboy. — Leave the State. — Barton captures Prescott. 
— Congress returns to Philadelphia. — Help from France. — Coming of La Fayette and 
De Kalb. — Plan of Burgoyne's campaign. — The invasion begins. — Fall of Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga. — The battle of Hubbardton. — Capture of Whitehall. — Fort Edward 
is taken. — Schuyler retreats to the Mohawk. — The British advance is impeded. — The 
battle of Bennington. — St. Leger besieges Schuyler. — Herkimer brings relief. — And is 
defeated. — Arnold advances. — Tlie Indians desert the British. — St. Leger retreats. — Dis- 
couragement of Burgoyne. — Gatliering of tlie Americans. — Burgoyne at Saratoga. — The 
first battle. — Critical condition of the British. — A diversion is attempted by Clinton. — 
But fails. — The second battle. — The Americans victorious. — Burgoyne is surrounded. — • 
And driven to surrender. — The army of the North relieves Washington. — The move- 
ment of Howe against Philadelphia. — He enters the Chesapeake. — The battle of Brandy- 
wine. — Retreat of the Americans. — Washington advances to Warren's Tavern. — A 
storm prevents the battle. — Countermarching of the armies. — The British capture Phil- 
adelphia. — Congress adjourns to Lancaster. — Washington on Skippack Creek. — The 



xxii CONTENTS. 

battle of Germantown. — Capture of Forts Mercer and Mifflin. — Tlie Americans at 
Whitemarsh. — Adventure of Lydia Darrah. — The British winter at Philadelphia. — The 
Americans at Vallej Forge. — Sorrows of Washington 317-328. 

CHAPTER XLI. 

FRANCE TO THE KESCUE. 

Silas Deane is sent to France. — His mission. — France favors the Americans. — Sap- 
plies are sent to the patriots. — Steuben arrives. — Lee and Franklin are appointed to 
negotiate a treaty. — Franklin's influence at the French court. — A treaty is concludeil. — 
Sketch of Franklin. — Arrival of D'Estaing's fleet. — War threatened between Fi-ance and 
England. — Effort of Great Britain for peace. — The British fleet at Philadelphia. — With- 
drawal of the squadron. — The city evacuated. — Washington pursues. — The battle of 
Monmouth. — Lee disobeys orders. — Is court-martialed and dismissed. — British concen- 
trate at New York. — The city threatened by D'Estaing. — He sails against Rhode Island. 
— Sullivan co-operates against Newport. — Howe follows D'Estaing. — Both squadrons 
•shattered by a storm. — Tlie siege of Newport. — Abandonment of the enterprise. — De- 
struction of American shipping. — Byron succeeds Ilowe. — Marauding of the British. — 
The Wyoming massacre. — Ruin of Cherry Valley. — The expedition of Major Clarke. — 
The French and British fleets sail away. — A force is sent against Savannah. — Capture of 
the city.— The situation 328-333. 

CPIAPTER XLIL 

MOVEMENTS OF '79. 

Hardships of the soldiers. — T-yon's expedition. — Is attacked by the militia. — Put- 
nam's exploit. — Fall of Stony Point and Verplank's. — Insurrection in Virginia. — Tryon 
invades Connecticut. — Destruction of East Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. — Stony 
Point is retaken by W^ayne. — Lee captures Jersey City. — An American flotilla sails to 
the Penobscot. — Is ruined. — Sullivan ravages the Indian countrj'. — The British evacuate 
Rhode Island. — War in the South. — Fort Sunbury is taken. — Fall of Augusta. — Ander- 
son defeats the tories. — Pickens gains a victory. — Augusta is evacuated. — Defeat of 
Lincoln's army. — The militia rally. — Lincoln takes tlie field. — Threatens Augusta. — 
Returns to Charleston. — Is beaten at Stono Ferry. — Suspension of activity. — D'Estaing 
arrives. — Siege of Savannah. — The unsuccessful assault. — Paul Jones's victory. — Re- 
flections. 334-339. 

CHAPTER XLIII. 

BEVERSES AND TREASON. 

Operations in the North suspended. — Ternay's fleet arrives. — Campaigns are planned. 
— Arbuthnot and Clinton besiege Charleston. — The city is taken. — Ravages of Tarleton. 
— Plan of the British to conquer South Carolina. — Capture of Ninety-Six. — Cornwallis's 
success.- — Tarleton's massacre. — South Carolina is subjugated. — Clinton returns to New 
York. — Marion and Sumter's bands. — They scour the country. — Their victories. — Gates 
takes command. — The British at Camden. — Gates advances against them. — Is met and 
defeated. — Is superseded by Greene. — Sumter's corps is broken up. — Cruelty of the 
British. — Rawdon advances into North Carolina. — Ferguson's tories are defeated. — * 
Financial distresses. — Sacrifices of Morris. — The treason of Arnold. — Sketch of his 
career. — Andre is sent to a conference. — The interview. — Andre attempts to return to 
New York. — Is captured, condemned, and executed. — Treaty with Holland. 339-345. 



CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER XLIV. 



Desperate condition of the army. — The Pennsylvania line revolt. — Mutiny of the 
Jersey brigade. — Robert Morris secretary of finance. — Champe attempts to capture 
Arnold. — Fails. — Arnold's expedition to Virginia. — Second plan to capture him. — 
He becomes commander-in-chief in Virginia. — Is superseded. — And ordered out of the 
State. — Leads a band into Connecticut. — Cajatures Fort Griswold. — Greene in the 
South. — Advances into South Carolina. — Morgan at the Cowpens. — Is attacked by 
Tarleton. — But defeats him. — Cornwallis attempts to cut off Morgan's retreat. — Greene 
takes command.— Crosses the Catawba. — Race for the Yadkin. — Greene wins it. — 
Race for the Dan. — Greene wins it. — Chagrin of the British. — Greene turns upon 
the enemy. — Lee disperses the tories. — Greene moves forward to Guilford. — Cornwallis 
attacks him. — An indecisive battle. — The British retreat to Wilmington. — Cornwallis 
goes to Virginia. — Tiie Americans advance into South Carolina. — The battle of Hob- 
kirk's Hill. — The British retire to Eutaw Springs. — The siege of Ninety-Six. — The 
place is abandoned by the enemy. — Greene in the Highlands. — Sumter, Lee, and 
Marion overrun the country. — Execution of Hajme. — Greene advances against Eutaw 
Springs. — The battle. — The British retreat to Charleston. — The situation. — The cam- 
paign in Virginia. — Cornwallis ravages the State. — Marches down the James. — Is 
attacked by Wayne. — Proceeds to Portsmouth. — And thence to Yorktown. — The Army 
of the North comes down upon him. — The French fleet co-operates. — Yorktown is 
besieged. — And Cornwallis's army taken. — Rejoicings. — Fall of the king's party in Par- 
liament. — Negotiations for peace. — A treaty is concluded. — Its terms. — Carleton super- 
sedes Clinton. — Evacuation of New York. — AVashington bids farewell to his officers. — 
Retires to private life. .... 3-15-356. 

CHAPTER XLV. 

CONFEDERATION AND UNION. 

Bad condition of the government. — Its defects. — Franklin pleads for union. — 
A committee appointed to prepare a Cunstitution. — The Articles of Confederation 
are adoj^ted. — The colonies are slow to ratify. — The Confederation. — Defects of the 
same. — Chaotic condition of affairs. — A firmer Constitution is projected. — The con- 
vention at Annapolis. — Adjournment to Philadelphia. — The Constitution is re- 
ported to the convention. — And adopted. — The last colonial Congress. — Its final work. 
— The North-western Territory is organized. — The several States cede their rights 
away. — St. Clair appointed governor. — Plan of organization. — Slavery is restricted. — 
— The people divide on tlie question of adopting the Constitution. — Sketch of Ham- 
ilton. — Character of the Constitution. — Amendments thereto. — The struggle in the 
colonial conventions. — Ratification by eleven States. — Washington is chosen Pres- 
ident. — .John Adams for the vice-presidency. — Washington's journey to New York. — 
Conclusion . 356-362. 



xxiv CONTENTS. 



PART V. 



NATIONAL PERIOD. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

Washington's administration, 

Washington is inaugurated President. — And the new government organized. — The 
country is beset with difficulties. — A cabinet is formed. — The Supreme Court is organ- 
ized. — Eliode Island and North Carolina ratify the Constitution. — Washington makes a 
tour through New England. — Presidential etiquette. — Hamilton's financial measures. 
— The seat of government is fixed. — An Indian war breaks out. — Plarmar marches 
against the Miamis. — Is defeated on the Maumee. — The Bank of the United States is 
established. — Vermont is admitted into the Union. — The first census. — St. Clair is sent 
against the Indians. — His army is defeated. — The wrath of Wasliington. — St. Clair is 
superseded by Wayne. — Kentucky is admitted. — Washington re-elected. — The foreign 
relations of the government are troubled. — Genet's conduct. — Fouchet supersedes 
him. — Troubles in the President's cabinet. — Antagonism of Jefferson and Hamilton. — 
The whisky insurrection breaks out. — Is suppressed by Lee. — Wayne invades the 
Indian country. — Defeats the Bed men at Waynesfield. — Compels a cession of ter- 
ritory. — Dies. — Great Britain orders the seizure of American vessels. — Jay procures 
reparation and a treaty. — Popular opposition thereto. — The compact with Spain. — 
Peace is purchased of Algiers. — Tennessee is admitted. — Washington issues his Fare- 
well address. — The candidates for the Presidency. — Adams is elected. — Jefferson for 
Vice-President 363-371. 

CHAPTER XLVII. 

ADAMS's ADMINISTRATION. 

Sketch of John Adams. — Opposition to the new admlnisti-ation. — France demands 
an alliance. — Orders the destruction of American commerce. — Pinckney is dismissed. — 
The extra session of Congress. — Gerry, Marshall, and Pinckney are senfe to France. — 
The Directory want money. — Pinckney's answer. — An American army is organized. — 
Washington comander-in-chief. — The work of the navy. — Truxtun's victories.— Doings 
of Talleyrand. — Napoleon seeks peace. — The successful embassy of Murray, Ellsworth, 
and Davie. — Death of Washington. — Close of the administration. — Growth of the 
country. — The Alien and Sedition laAvs. — OvertliroAV of the Federal party. — Jefferson 
is elected President. — And Burr Vice-President. 372-37G. 

CHAPTER XLVIII. 

Jefferson's administration. 

Sketch of Jefferson. — Pie puts Democrats in office. — Oliio is admitted. — Indiana 
and Mississippi organized. — Louisiana is jiurchased from France. — Boundaries. — The 
territory of Orleans is set off. — John Marshall in the chief-justiceship. — The Mediter- 



CONTENTS. XXV 

i 

ranean pirates. — Preble is sent against them. — The Ph'iladdphia is captured. — Eetaker, 
and burned. — The siege of Tripoli. — Expedition of Eaton. — Yusef signs a treaty. — Tlie 
duel of Burr and Hamilton. — Jefferson is re-elected. — Micliigan is organized. — Lewis 
and Clarke explore Oregon. — Burr makes a conspiracy. — Is tried for treason. — Brit- 
ish aggressions on American commerce. — England blockades the coast of France. — 
Napoleon retaliates. — Great Britain forbids the coasting trade. — An old abuse revived. 
— The rule of 1756 again asserted. — Tlie effect on American commerce. — The English 
theory of citizenship. — The object of that theory. — The attack of the Leopard on the 
Chesapeake. — Passage of the Embargo Act. — The Orders in Council and Milan Decree. — 
Fulton and his steamboat. — Inventitn of the torpedo. — Summary of events. 376-388. 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

Madison's administration and the wak of '12. 

Sketch of the life and previous services of Madison. — His politics. — The Non- 
intercourse Act takes the place of the Embargo. — Erskine promises the repeal of the 
Orders in Council. — The promise not fulfilled. — Bonaparte mrfkes a decree. — And then 
revokes it. — Obstinacy of Great Britain. — A crisis is reached. — Third census. — Tecumtha 
and the Prophet. — Harrison purchases lands. — Tecumtha refuses to ratify. — Harrison 
marches up the Wabash Valley. — Approaches the Prophet's town. — Is attacked by 
night. — And routs the savages. — Fight of the President and Little Belt. — The twelfth 
Congress. — War inevitable. — The President's timid disposition. — Henry's conspiracv is 
discovered. — Nature of the plot. — Effect of the disclosure. — British vessels are embar- 
goed. — Louisiana is admitted. — War declared against Engla7id. — Preiaarations. — Relative 
strength of the belligerents. — Hull's campaign. — He marches to the head of Lake Erie. 
— Readies Detroit. — Invades Canada. — Retreats. — Van Home's defeat. — Miller's vic- 
tory. — Siege of Detroit. — Hull's disgraceful surrender. — He is convicted of cowardice. 
— Capture and burning of Fort Dearborn. — Character assumed by the war. — Sketch of 
the American defences. — Tlie Constitution captures the Guerriere. — The Wasp the Frolic. 
— The Poictiers the Wasp. — The United States the Macedonian. — The Essex the Nocton. — 
And the Constitution the Java. — Effect of these victories. — Comment of the English 
newspapers. — Van Rensselaer moves against Queenstown. — Carries the batteries. — 
Death of Brock. — The Americans entrench. — But are forced to surrender. — Smytli suc- 
ceeds Van Rens.selaer. — And makes a fool of himself. — The Americans at Black Rock 
cross and recross the river. — Madison re-elected. 388-399. 

CHAPTER L. 

WAR OF '12. — continued. 

Plan of the campaigns of '13. — The Americans capture Frenchtown. — Are as- 
sailed by Proctor. — Surrender. — And are butchered. — Harrison at Fort Meigs. — He 
is besieged. — Clay raises the siege. — Proctor and Tecumtha return. — Attack Fort 
Stephenson. — And are defeated by Croghan. — -nffairs on Lake Erie. — Perry builds 
a fleet. — Attacks the British squadron. — And gains a signal victory. — Harrison em- 
barks his forces to Maiden. — Follows the British and Indians to the Thames. — And 
routs them in battle. — The Creeks massacre the garrison at Fort Mims. — Jackson 
and Coffee with the Tenncsseeans. — They burn Tallushatchie. — Battles of Talladega 
and Autosse. — Winter and .starvation. — Battle of Emucfau. — And Horse Shoe Bend. — 
Dearborn proceeds against Toronto. — Battle at the water's edge. — The Americans 
capture the town. — The British attack Sackett's Harbor. — The Americans on the 
Niagara. — They storm Fort George. — Suspension of operations. — Wilkinson is made 



xxvi CONTENTS. 

■<• 
commaiider-iii-cliief. — Expedition against Montreal. — The battle of Chrysler's Field. 
— The expedition is abandoned. — Winter quarters at Fort Covington. — ilcClure 
evacuates Fort George. — Burns Newark. — The British retaliate. — Tlie Hornet captures 
the Peacock. — The Chesapeake is taken by the Shannon. — Death of Lawrence. — Cap- 
ture of the Argus. — The Enterprise takes the Boxer. — The Essex is captured by the 
Phoehe and Cherub. — A British fleet bombards Lewiston. — Marauding in the Chesa- 
peake 400-407. 

CHAPTER LI. 

CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 

Scott and Eipley capture Erie. — Battles of Chippewa and Niagara. — The Amer- 
icans retreat to Erie. — Siege of that place by the British. — Tliey are driven ofT. — Winter 
quarters at Black Rock. — Wilkinson again invades Canada. — Is defeated at La CoUe. — 
And retreats to Plattsburg.— McDonougli's squadron on the lake. — Tlie British ad- 
vance. — Attack by land and water. — And are defeated. — Cochrane and Ross in the 
Chesapeake. — Barney destroys his vessels. — Battle of Bladensburg. — W^ashington is 
captured by the British. — Public buildings burned. — Alexandria pays a ransom. — 
Siege of Baltimore. — Ravages in New England.— The Federal peace party. — The Hart- 
ford Convention. — Jackson captures Pensacola. — ^Takes command at New Orleans. — 
Approach of the British. — Skirmishing and fighting. — The decisive battle. — Ruin of 
Packenham's army. — The news of peace. — Sea-fights afterward. — The treaty of Ghent. 
— Great rejoicings.- — Terms of the treaty. — Condition of the country. — Rechartering of 
the United States Bank. — The Mediterranean pirates again. — Decatur sent out against 
them. — He captures a Moorish ship. — And then another.— Enters the Bay of Algiers. — 
And dictates the terms of peace. — Indiana is admitted. — Liberia founded. — Monroe is 
elected President 407-416. 

CHAPTER LII. 

Monroe's adjiinlstration. 

Tlie new President and his policy. — The cabinet. — Revival of the country. — De- 
mand for tlie recognition of Hayti. — Treaty with the Northwestern Indians. — Missis- 
sippi is admitted. — The pirates of Amelia Island dispersed. — The question of internal 
improvements ari.ses. — The canal from Buflfalo to Albany. — The Seminole war breaks 
out. — Jackson invades the hostile country. — Captures St. Marks. — Hangs Arbuthnot and 
Ambrister. — Takes Pensacola.— An excitement follows. — Which leads to the cession of 
Florida. — Great financial crisis of 1819. — Illinois is admitted. — And Alabama. — Ai-- 
kansas is organized. — And Maine admitted. — And Missouri. — The slavery agitation. — 
And Missouri Compromise. — Its terms. — Monroe and Tompkins are re-elected. — Com- 
modore Porter suppresses piracy in the West Indies. — Sympathy of the United States 
for the South American republics. — Tfce Monroe Doctrine. — The visit of La Fayette. — 
Excitement attending the presidential election. — John Quincy Adams chosen. 416-423. 

CHAPTER LIIL 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS's ADMINISTRATION. 

Sketch of the President. — Partisan opposition in Congress. — Internal improve- 
ments favored by the executive. — Trouble with Georgia about the lands of the Creeks. 
— Settled by a treaty. — Death of Adams and Jefferson. — The Masonic excitement in 



CONTENTS. xxvii 

New York. — Discussion of the tariff in Congress. — A protective duty laid on fabrics. 

A new departure in American history. — Adams renominated for the Presidency. — Gen- 
eral Jackson j^nt forward by the Democrats. — And elected. . . . 423-426. 

CHAPTER LIV. 

Jackson's administration. 

Sketch of Jackson's life and cliaracter. — He fills the offices with his political 
friends — Opposes the rechartering of the United States Bank. — And vetoes the bill. — 
The new political organization. — Sketch of parties. — The tariff question again.— South 
Carolina attempts nullification. — Debate of Webster and Hayne. — The President's proc- 
lamation. — South Carolina recedes from her position. — Mr. Clay's tariff compromise. — 
The Black Hawk war breaks out. — Generals Scott and Atkinson are sent against the 
Eed men. — "Who are driven to submission. — The diflSculty with the Cherokees. — Char- 
acter of that race.— The wrongs done to them. — Scott compels their removal to the 
"West. — A second Seminole war.— The arrest of Osceola. — His release and conspiracy. — 
Dade's massacre. — Murder of General Thompson. — Clinch fights the savages and re- 
treats. — Gaines defeats tlie Indians on tlie "Withlacoochie. — Battle of the AVahoo Swamp. 
— A second figlit. — The President orders the distribution of the funds. — A panic follows. 
— The President is vituperated. — Is censured by Congress. — But re-elected. — He brings 
France and Portugal to terms. — Death-list of eminent men. — Fires in New York and 
"Wasliington. — Arkansas and Micliigan admitted into the Union. — Jackson's farewell 
address. — Van Buren elected President 426-43G. 

CHAPTER LV. 

VAN bueen's administration. 

Sketch of the new executive. — Another monetary disturbance. — Continuance of the 
Seminole war. — Colonel Taylor hunts the savages to Lake Okeechobee. — Defeats them. 
— And compels submission. — The financial panic of '37. — Causes which led thei-eto. — 
Especially the Specie Circular. — The banks suspend. — Tremendous failures. — Treasury 
notes are issued. — The Independent Treasury Bill is discussed. — And finally passed. — 
Partial revival of business. — The Canada insurrection. — Affair of the Caroline. — Wool is 
sent to the Niagara. — Order is restored.— An early presidential canvass. — Uneventful 
character of Van Buren's administration. — The sixth census. — General Harrison is 
elected President 436-440 

CHAPTER LVI. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 

Sketch of the President's life. — He enters upon his duties. — Falls sick. — And dies, 
— Tyler succeeds to the Presidency .^Sketch. — Repeal of the Independent Treasury 
Bill. — A bill is passed to recharter the United States Bank. — And vetoed by the Presi- 
dent. — The bankrupt law. — Rupture between the executive and Congress. — Resignation 
of the cabinet. — The north-eastern boundary is settled by the Webster-Ashburton treaty. 
— The Rhode Island insurrection. — Tlie suffrage party elects Dorr. — And the law-and- 
order party, King. — The latter is supported by the government. — Dorr's followers are 
scattered. — And him.self convicted of treason. — But afterward pardoned. — Building and 
dedication of Bunker Hill monument. — The Van Rensselaer land troubles in New 
York. — The Mormons. — They are driven from Missouri. — Found Nauvoo. — Popular 
feeling against them. — Smith and his brother are murdered. — And the Mormons driven 



xxviii CONTENTS. 

into exile. — They journey to Salt Lake. — The Texas excitement begins. — Outline of 
Texas history. — The people rebel against Mexico. — Battle of Gonzales. — Capture of the 
Alamo. — And mas.sacre of the garrison. — The battle of San Jacinto decides the contest. 
— Texas independent. — Seeks admission into tlie Union. — Is refused at first. — The peo- 
ple of the United States divide on the question of annexation.— On that issue Polk 
is elected President. — Professor Morse and the telegraph. — Texas admitted into the 
Union. . . . . 440-447. 

CHAPTER LVIL 

folk's administration and the MEXICAN WAR. 

.Sketch of President Polk. — Texas ratifies the annexation. — General Taylor sent to 
defend the country. — The boundary question. — Proposition to negotiate. — Mexico 
refuses. — Taylor ordered to the Neuces. — And thence to the Rio Grande. — He estab- 
lishes a post at Point Isabel. — And builds Fort Brown. — Beginning of hostilities by tlie 
Mexicans. — Taylor retires to Point Isabel. — Mexican boasting. — Returns toward Mata- 
moras. — Meets the Mexicans. — Fights and gains the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de 
la Palma. — Siege of Fort Brown. — Nevvs of the battles in the United States. — Declaration 
of War. — Plan of the campaigns. — General Wool musters the forces. — Taylor captures 
Matamoras. — Advances against Monterey. — Besieges and storms the town. — An armis- 
tice. — Santa Anna made President of Mexico and general of the army. — Saltillo is taken 
by Worth. — Victoria by Patterson. — And Tampico by Conner. — Wool advances. — And 
Scott assumes command. — Kearney captures Santa Fe. — Moves westward. — Is joined by 
Carson.^— And marches to the Pacific coast. — The deeds of Colonel Fremont. — Rebellion 
of the Oalifornians. — They defeat the Mexicans.— jSIonterey, San Diego, and Los Angeles 
taken. — Battle of San Gabriel. — The march and battles of Colonel Doniphan. — Taylor's 
and Wool's forces ordered to the coast. — Critical condition of Taylor's army. — A])- 
proach of Santa Anna. — Battle of Buena Vista. — Retirement of Taylor from tiie 
service. — Scott besieges and captures Vera Cruz. — Marches against the capital. — Battle 
of Cerro Gordo. — Jalapa, Perote, and Puebla are taken. -^Negotiations. — The march 
renewed. — The army passes the Cordilleras. — Reaches Ayotla. — Turns to the left. — The 
approaches and fortifications of the city. — Storming of Contreras and San Antonio. — 
Churubusco is carried. — Tlie Mexicans driven back to Chapultepec. — More foolish nego- 
tiations. — Scott rests his army. — And then advances. — Molino del Rey and Casa de 
Mata are stormed. — Chapultepec is taken. — Flight of the Mexican government. — The 
American army enters the city. — Santa Anna attacks tlie hospitals at Puebla. — Is driven 
off by General Lane. — Downfall of the Mexican authority. — The treaty of Gaudalupe 
Hidalgo. — Its terms. — Settlement of the Oregon boundary. — The international line es- 
tablished on the forty-ninth parallel. — The discovery of gold in California. — The excite- 
ment which ensued. — Importance of the mines. — Founding of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion. — Death of Jackson and John Quincy Adams'. — Wisconsin is admitted. — Establish- 
ment of the Department of the Interior. — The canvass for President.— Rise of the Free 
Soil party. — The Wilmot proviso. — Election of Taylor to the pi'csidency. 447-462. 

CHAPTER LVIII. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 

Sketch of the chief magistrate. — The question of slavery in California. — A terri- 
torial government is organized. — A petition for admission. — The controversy in Con- 
gress. — Other political vexations. — Clay as a peace-maker. — Passage of the Omnibus 
Bill. — And its provision.*. — Death of the President. — The slaverv excitement subsides. 



CONTENTS. sxix 

— The question not permanently settled. — Eetirement of Mr. Clay. — Eflfects of the Om- 
nibus Bill on the administration. — The Cuban expedition is organized. — Lopez and his 
associates are executed. — Important measures recommended by the President. — A diffi- 
culty arises about the coast-fislieries. — And is settled by a treaty. — The tour of Kossuth. 
—Arctic expeditions of Franklin, De Haven, and Kane. — Death of Calhoun, Clay, and 
"VVebster.^The Cuban excitement in Europe. — The Tripartite Treaty is proposed. — 
And rejected. — Everett's reply to France and Great Britain. — The candidates for the 
presidency. — Pierce is elected 463-469. 

CHAPTER LIX. 

Pierce's ADinNisTRATioN. 

Sketch of Franklin Pierce. — A route for a Pacific railroad is explored. — Settle- 
ment of the boundary of New Mexico. — The Japanese ports are opened to the United 
States. — The World's Fair. — Walker organizes a filibustering expedition against Central 
America. — Is captured. — Makes a second descent on Nicaraugua. — And then a third. — 
Is defeated, captured, and executed. — The Martin Koszta affair. — Cuban difficulties. — 
The Ostend manifesto. — A bill to organize Kansas and Nebraska is passed. — Eepeal 
of the Missouri Compromise. — Renewal of the slavery agitation. — The troubles in Kan- 
sas. — Two territorial governments are organized. — Geary sent thither as military gov- 
ernor.— Marshaling of parties on the slavery question. — Buchanan is elected to the pres- 
idency 469-474. 

CHAPTER LX. 

Buchanan's adminlstration. 

Sketch of the President. — The Dred Scott decision. — The Mormon rebellion in 
Utah. — Is suppressed by the army. — A difficulty arises with Paraguay. — But is settled 
by treaty. — The first Atlantic cable is laid. — Minnesota is admitted, — Retirement and 
sketch of Houston. — Death of Washington Irving. — His work in American literature. 
— The Personal Liberty bills. — John Brown's insurrection. — Continuance of the troubles 
in Kansas — The political parties again divide on the slavery question. — The National 
conventions. — The candidates and the canvass. — Lincoln is elected President. — Condi- 
tion of affairs in the government. — Position of Buchanan. — The drama of .recession. — 
Seven States withdraw from the Union. — The secession conventions. — Position of Steph- 
ens. — Organization of the Provisional Confederate government. — Davis for President. — 
The peace movements end in failure. — Paralysis of the administration. — Seizure 
of forts and arsenals by the Confederates. — The strife in Kansas continues. — The 
Star of the West is driven off from Fort Sumter. — The President elect reaches Wash- 
ington 474-482. 

CHAPTER LXI. 

Lincoln's administration and the civil war. 

Sketch of Abraham Lincoln. — Organization of his cabinet. — His purpose to repos- 
sess the forts of the LTnited States. — Preparations to reinforce Fort Sumter. — Confed- 
erate movements in Charleston. — Bombardment and fall of Fort Sumter. — The event 
fires the nation. — The call for troops. — Secession of Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, 
and Tennessee. — The soldiers attacked in Baltimore. — Capture of Harper's Ferry and 
the Norfolk navy yard. — Prodigious activity and preparations. — Davis and his cabinet 
at Richmond 482-485. 



XXX CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER LXIL 

THE CArSES. 

The causes. — First, the different construction of the Constitution in the North and 
the South. — Fatal character of this dispute. — Second, the system of slavery. — The 
cotton gin.— The Missouri agitation. — The annexation of Texas, and the Mexican 
War. — The nullification measures of South Carolina. — The Omnibus Bill. — The Kan- 
sas-Neb)-aska imbroglio. — Third, the want of intercourse between the North and 
the South. — Fourth, the publication of sectional books. — Fifth, the influence of dema- 
gogues .... 4S5-4SS. 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

FIRST YEAR OF THE -WAB, 

Advance of the Union army. — Fight at Big Bethel. — Morris and McClellan move 
forward in West Virginia. — Engagements at Philippi, Ricli Mountain, Carrick's Ford, 
Carnifex Ferry, Cheat Mountain, and Romney. — Tlie Confederates concentrate at 
Manassas. — The national forces advance. — The skirmish, the battle, and the rout. — 
Effect on the country. — The Confederate government at Richmond. — Sketch of Davis. 
— Affairs in Missouri. — Confederates capture Liberty. — Form Camp Jackson. — Lyon 
defends St. Louis. — Battles of Carthage and Springfield. — Price captures Lexington. — 
Fremont pursues him. — And is superseded. — Grant captures Belmont. — McClellan is 
made commander-in-chief. — The disaster at Ball's Bluff. — Hatteras inlet, Port Royal, 
and Hilton Head secured by the Federals. — Cajjture of Mason and Slidell. — Tlicy are 
released by Mr. Seward 490-495. 

CHAPTER LXIV. 

CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 

Extent and position of the L'nion forces. — The Confederates defeated on the Big 
Sandy and at Mill Spring. — Fort Henry is taken. — Siege and capture of Fort Donelson. 
— Battle of Shiloh. — Island Number Ten is taken. — The battle of Pea Ridge. — Fight 
of the Monitor and the Merrimac. — Burnside captures Roanoke Island, Newbern, and 
Beaufort. — Savannah is blockaded. — Farragut aud Butler ascend the Mississippi. — Pass 
Forts Jackson and St. Philip. — Capture of New Orleans. — Fall of Jackson and St. 
p],i|jp, — Kirby Smith invades Kentucky. — Battle of Richmond. — Bragg marches on 
Louisville.— The city held by Buell. — Bragg retreats. — Battle of Perryv;lle.— Battles of 
luka and Corinth. — Grant moves against Vicksburg. — Retreats.— Battle of Chickasaw 
Bayou. — Battle of Murfreesborough.— Banks and Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. — 
Fight at Front Royal. — The Federals retreat across the Potomac— The Confederates 
fall back in turn.— Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic— McClellan advances.— 
Beginning of the Peninsular campaign.— Yorktown is taken. — Then Williamsburg and 
West Point.— Wool captures Norfolk.— The Virginia destroyed.— Battle of Fair Oaks.— 
Lee made general-in-chief of the Confederates.— McClellan changes base.— The seven 
days' battles.— The Union army at Harrison's Landing.— Lee strikes for Washington.— 
Is opposed by Pope.— Flank movement of Jackson.— Battles of Manassas, Centreville, 
and Chantilly.— Lee invades Maryland.— Harper's Ferry is taken.— Engagement at 
South Mountain.— Battle of Antietam.— Confederates retreat.— Burnside in command.— 
Plans a campaign against Richmond.— Advances against Fredericksburg.— And is de- 
feated 495-510. 



CONTENTS. xxxi 

CHAPTEE LXV. 

THE WORK OF '63. 

Proportions of the conflict. — New calls for troops.— The Emancipation Proclama- 
tion. — Capture of Arkansas Post. — Movements against Vicksburg. — The fleet passes the 
batteries. — Grant at Bruinsburg. — Battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, and 
Champion Hills. — The siege and capture of Vicksburg. — Fall of Port Hudson.— Cav- 
alry raids of Jackson, Stuart, and Grierson. — Rosecrans drives Bragg across the Ten- 
nessee. — Battle of Chattanooga. — And the siege. — Storming of Lookout and Missionary 
Ridge. — Longstreet in Tennessee. — Siege of Knoxville. — Engagements at Springfield, 
Cape Girardeau, and Helena. — Tlie sacking of Lawrence. — Capture of Little Rock. — 
Morgan invades Indiana. — Passes into Ohio. — Is hemmed in and captured. — The Con- 
federates take Galveston. — Tlie siege of Charleston. — Hooker commands the Army of 
the Potomac. — Battle of Chancellorsville. — Death of Stonewall Jackson. — Stoneman's 
raid.— Siege of Suffolk. — Lee invades Pennsylvania. — The battle of Gettysburg. — Re- 
treat of the Confederates. — The conscription. — Riot in New York. — The draft. — New 
calls for soldiers. — West Virginia a State. ...... 510-523. 

CHAPTER LXVI. 

THE CLOSC^G CONFLICTS. 

Sherman's campaign to Meridian. — Smith fails to form a junction. — Sherman 
retires to Vicksburg. — Forrest's raid. — The Red River expedition. — Plan of the cam- 
paign. — Capture of Fort de Russy, Alexandria, and Natchitoches. — Union disaster and 
retreat. — Steele falls back to Little Rock. — Grant lieutenant-general. — Plan of the cam- 
paigns of '64. — Sherman advances. — Battles of Dalton, Resaca, and Dallas. — Attacks 
and repulses at Kenesaw. — The Confederates fall back to Atlanta. — Siege and capture of 
the stronghold. — Hood invades Tennessee. — Thomas sent to confront liim. — Battle of 
Franklin. — Siege of Nasliville. — Rout and ruin of Hood's army. — Sherman's march to 
the sea. — Capture of Macon, Milledgeville, Gibson, and Waynesboro ugh. — Storming 
of Fort McAllister. — Escape of Hardee. — And capture of the city. — The Union army in 
Savannah. — Renewal of the march. — Columbia, Charleston, and Fayetteville are taken. 
— Battle of Kilpatrick's and Hampton's Cavalry. — Johnston restored to command. — 
Battles of Averasborough and Bentonsville. — Capture of Goldsborough and Raleigh. — 
Great raid of Stoneman. — Surrender of Johnston. — Farragut enters Mobile Bay. — 
Defeats the Confederate squadron. — Captures Forts Gaines and Morgan. — Fort Fisher 
is besieged by Porter and Butler. — Tlie first effort fails. — The siege is renewed. — 
And the fort taken by storm. — Cushing's exploit. — The Confederate cruisers. — Injury 
done to the commerce of the United States. — The Savannah. — Career of the Sumter. — 
Cruise of the JVWiyi7fe. — The Confederates use the British ship-yards. — Building of the 
Florida. — Her fate. — The Georgia, the Olustee, the Shenandoah, and the Chickamauga built 
at Glasgow. — End of the Chickamauga and the Tallahassee. — Career of the Georgia and 
the Shenandoah. — The Alabama. — Her character. — She scours the ocean. — Runs into 
Cherbourg. — Is caught by the Kearsarge. — And destroyed. — The Army of the Potomac 
moves from Culpepper. — Reaches the "Wilderness. — The battles. — Grant advances to 
Spottsylvania. — Terrible fighting there. — The Union army moves to Cold Harbor. — 
Is repulsed in two battles. — Losses. — Grant changes base. — Butler captures Bermuda 
and City Point. — Is driven back by Beauregard. — .lunction of the armies. — Advance on 
Petersburg. — The assaults. — The siege begins. — Sigel on the Shenandoah. — Battle of 
New Market. — Hunter in command. — Engagement at Piedmont. — Retreat of Hunter. — 
Early enters the valley. — Crosses the Potomac. — Defeats Wallace. — Threatens Wash- 



xxxii CONTENTS. 

ington and Baltimore. — Eetreats into Virginia. — Fight at Winchester. — The Confed- 
erates burn Chambersburg. — Sheridan is sent into the valley. — Battles of Winchester 
and Fisher's Hill. — Sheridan ravages the country. — Early comes.— Routs the Federals 
at Cedar Creek. — Sheridan returns, and destroys Early's army. — The siege of Peters- 
burg continues. — Battles of Boydtown and Five Forks. — Flight of the Confederate 
government. — Fall of Petersburg and Eichmond. — Surrender of Lee. — Collapse of the 
Confederacy. — The Federal authority is re-established. — Capture, imprisonment, and 
trial of Davis. — Lincoln re-elected. — Financial condition of tlie country. — Treasury 
notes. — Internal Eevenue. — Legal Tenders.— Bonds. — Banks. — Tlie debt. — Lincoln is 
reinaugurated. — Visits Eichmond. — Is a.ssassinated. — Punishment of his murderers. — 
Character of Lincoln. .......... 523-543, 

CHAPTEE LXVII. 

Johnson's administration. 

Johnson in the jsresidency. — Sketch of his life and character. — Slavery is formally 
abolished. — The Amnesty Proclamation. — A struggle with the war-debt. — Najioleon's 
empire in Mexico. — Maximilian is captured and shot. — Final success of the Atlantic 
telegraph. — The Postal Money-Order system is established. — The Tei'ritories assume 
their final form.— Alaska is purcliased from Enssia. — The difficulty between the Presi- 
dent and Congress. — The reconstruction imbroglio. — Second amnesty. — The Civil Eights 
Bill is passed. — The Southern States are re-admitted. — A national convention at Phila- 
delphia. — The President makes a tour of the country. — Congressional measures of 
reconstruction. — The breach is widened between the executive and Congress. — The ve- 
toing business. — The President removes Stanton. — Is impeached. — And acquitted. — Gen- 
eral Grant is elected President. ........ 544-551. 

CHAPTEE LXVIII. 

grant's administration. 

Sketch of President Grant. — The Pacific Eailroad is completed. — The Fourteenth 
and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution are adopted. — The story of Black 
Friday. — The Southern States are restored to their place in the Union. — The ninth 
census and its lesson. — The Santo Domingo business. — The Alabama claims are ad- 
justed by the treaty of Washington and the Geneva court. — Eailroad development 
of the United States. — The burning of Chicago. — The North-western boundary is 
settled by arbitration. — The presidential election. — The candidates. — Grant is re- 
elected. — Character of Greeley. — His death. — Great fire in Boston. — The Modoc war. — 
Murder of the peace commissioners. — The savages are subdued. — The Louisiana im- 
broglio. — The Credit Mobilier investigation. — The financial crisis of 1873-'74. — The 
Northern Pacific Eailroad enterprise. — Admission of Colorado. — Death-roll of emi- 
nent men. — Sketches of Sumner and Wilson. — The great Centennial. — Concluding re- 
flections 552-568. 

CHAPTER LXIX. 

conclusion. 

The outlook for the Eepublic. — Byron's view of nations. — The hopeful side. — 
Present achievements of the United States. — Natural advantages. — How the Saxon has 
improved them. — Things necessary to the perpetuity of American institutions: First, 
National Unity. — Second, LTniversal Education. — Third, Toleration. — Fourth, The Nobil- 
ity of Labor. — Eeflections. 568-572- 



CONTENTS. 



XXXUl 



APPENDIXES, 



Appendix A. — Mandeville's Argument 
Appendix B. — The Mayflower Compact 
Appendix C. — Franklin's Constitution 
Appendix D. — Declaration of Independence 
Appendix E. — Articles of Confederation 
Appendix F. — Constitution of the United States 
Appendix G. — Wa.shington's Farewell Address 
Appendix H. — The Emancipation Proclamation 



573-576 

577 
578-579 
580-582 
583-588 
589-599 
600-609 
610-611 



Vocabulary 
Index 



612-614 
615-G2i 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

Front view of the Capitol Frontispiece. 

Map of Aboriginal America 44 

Diagram of European Kinship 45 

Diagram of Indian Kinship 46 

Specimen of Indian "Writing 48 

A North American Indian 49 

Norse Exploration.s 52 

A Norse Sea King of the lltli Century 53 

Christopher Columbus 55 

Chart of Voyage and Discovery . 56 

Fernando Cortez 59 

Map of Voyage and Discovery 76 

Map of English Grants 86 

Captain John Smith 96 

Jamestown and Vicinity 103 

Chart of the Colonial Period 122 

The Treaty between Governor Carver and Massasoit 124 

John Wintlirop 127 

Eoger "Williams' reception by the Indians 129 

Early Settlements in New England 131 

First Scene of King Philip's War 140 

Second Scene of King Philip's "War 141 

Third Scene of King Philip's "War 143 

Siege of Louisburg, 1745 . 158 

Sir Henry Hudson 161 

French, English, Dutch, Swedish and Spanisli Provinces, 1655 .... 168 

Peter Stuyvesant . 171 

Scene of the Pequod "War 187 

The Younger "Winthrop 190 

The Old Stone Tower at Newport 195 

East and "West Jersey, 1677 205 

William Penn 211 

Philadelphia and Vicinity 213 

Lord Baltimore 217 

James Oglethorpe 239 

Country of the Savannah, 1740 242 

First Scene of the French and Indian War, 1750 253 

Scene of Braddock's Defeat, 1755 260 

The Acadian Isthmus, 1755 262 

The Exile of the Acadians 263 

(xxxiv) 



ILL USTBA TIONS. xxxv 

Page 

Vicinity of Lake George, 1755 265 

Vicinity of Quebec, 1759 274 

General James Wolfe 275 

The Kevelation of Pontiac's Conspiracy 278 

The Old Thirteen Colonies 281 

Patrick Henry 290 

Samuel Adams 295 

Scene of the Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775 300 

Siege of Boston, 1776 . 306 

Chart of the Revolution and Confederation 306 

Battle of Long Island, 1776 311 

Scene of Operations about New York, 1776 314 

Battles of Trenton and Princeton, 1776-7 316 

Scene of Burgoyne's Invasion, 1777 323 

Encampment at Valley Forge, 1777-8 327 

Benjamin Franklin 330 

Siegeof Charleston, 1780 340 

Scene of Operations in the South, 1780-1 342 

Scene of Arnold's Treason, 1780 344 

General Greene 351 

Siege of Yorktown, October, 1781 353 

Map of the United States at the Close of the Kevolution , 354 

Alexander Hamilton 359 

George Washington 363 

Chart of the National Period— First Section 364 

John Adams 372 

Thomas Jefferson 377 

Chief-Justice Marshall ............ 380 

Eobert Fulton 386 

James Madison ............. 389 

Scene of Hull's Campaign, 1812 394 

The Niagara Frontier, 1812 .399 

Scene of the Creek AVar, 1813-14 403 

La Fayette .^ . 423 

Chart of the National Period — Second Section ....... 424 

Andrew .lackson . 427 

Daniel Webster 429 

The New Patent-Office at Wasliington 433 

Bunker Hill Monument . 443 

Professor Morse 446 

Texas and Coahuila, 1845 448 

Scene of Scott's Campaign, 1847 454 

General Winfield Scott 457 

The Smithsonian Institution . 460 

President Taylor 463 

Henry Clay 465 

John C.Calhoun 468 

General Sam Houston 477 

Washington Irving ............. 478 

Alexander H. Stephens 481 

Abraham Lincoln 483 



xxxvi ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Page 

Chart of the National Period— Third Section 489 

Scene of Operations in West Virginia, 1861 490 

Vicinity of Manassas Junction, 1861 491 

Jefferson Davis 492 

Scene of Operations in tlie South-west, 1861 493 

William H. Seward 495 

Battle of Murfreesborough, December 31st, 1862 ....... 500 

Battle of Murfreesborough, January 2d, 1863 501 

Scene of Campaign in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, 1862 . • . 503 

General Eobert E. Lee 504 

Vicinity of Eichmond, 1862 505 

The Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862 507 

The Proposed Routes from Washington to Richmond, 1862 508 

Vicksburg and Vicinity, 1863 512 

Battle of Chickamauga, September 19, 20, 1863 514 

Lookout Mountain and jNIissionary Ridge, November 23-25, 1863 .... 515 

Stonewall Jackson 519 

Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 2, 3, 1863 520 

Sherman's Campaign, 1864 525 

General Thomas 527 

General Sherman 528 

Admiral Farragut 531 

Oj^erations in Virginia, 1864 and 1865 535 

Petersburg, Richmond, Appomattox, 1865 539 

Map of the United States, 1876 546 

Chief-Justice Chase 551 

President Grant 552 

Map of the Territorial Growth of the United States 554 

Horace Greeley 558 

Charles Sumner 562 

Centennial Grounds and Buildings 563 

Main Exposition Building, Centennial Exposition 565 

Fine Art Gallery, " " 566 

Horticultural Building, " " 567 

Agricultural Building, " " 568 

Signatures of the Puritans 577 



INTRODUCTION. 



1. The history of every nation is divided into periods. For 
a while the genius of a people will be turned to some particular pur- 
suit. INIen will devote themselves to certain things and labor to ac- 
complish certain results. Then the spirit of the age will change, and 
historical flicts will assume a different character. Thus arises what is 
called A Period in History. In studying the history of the United 
States it is of the first importance to understand the periods into which 
it is divided. 

2. First of all, there was a time when the Xew World was under 
the dominion of the aborigines. From ocean to ocean the copper-col- 
ored children of the woods ruled with undisputed sway. By bow and 
arrow, by flint and hatchet, the Red man supported his rude civiliza- 
tion and waited for the coming of the pale-faced races. 

3. After the discovery of America, the people of Europe were 
hundreds of years in making themselves acquainted with the shape and 
character of the New World. During that time explorers and adven- 
turers went everywhere and settled nowhere. To make new discov- 
eries was the universal passion ; but nobody cared to plant a colony. 
As long as this spirit prevailed, historical events bore a common char- 
acter, being produced by common causes. Hence arose the second pe- 
riod in our history — the Period of Voyage and Discovery. 

4. As soon as the adventurers had satisfied themselves with trac- 
ing sea-coasts, ascending rivers and scaling mountains, they began to 
form permanent settlements. And each settlement was a new State in 
the wilderness. Every voyager now became ambitious to plant a col- 
ony. Kings and queens grew anxious to confer their names on the 
towns and commonwealths of the New World. Thus arose a third pe- 
riod — the Period of Colonial History. 

(sxxvii) 



xxx^iii INTR OD UCTION. 

5. Then the colonies grew strong and multiplied. There were 
thirteen little sea-shore republics. The people began to consult about 
their privileges and to talk of the rights of freemen. Oppression on 
the part of the mother-country was met with resistance, and tyranny 
with defiance. There was a revolt against the king; and the patriots 
of the diiferent colonies fought side by side, and won their freedom. 
Then they built them a Union, strong and great. This is the Period 
of Revolution and Confederation. 

6. Then the United States of America entered upon their career 
as a nation. Three times tried by war and many times vexed with 
civil dissensions, the Union of our fathers still remains for us and for 
posterity. Such is the Period of Nationality. 

7. Collecting these results, we find five distinctly marked peri- 
ods in the history of our country : 

First. The Aboriginal Period ; from remote antiquity to the 
coming of the White men. 

Second. The Period of Voyage and Discovery; A. D. 
986-1G07. 

Third. The Colonial Period; A. D. 1607-1775. 

Fourth. The Period of Revolution and Confederation; 
A. D. 1775-1789. 

Fifth. The National Period; A. D. 1789-187G. 

In this order the History of the United States will be presented 
in the following pages. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



PART I. 

ABOEICtIXAL ameeiga. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE RED MEX— ORIGIN, DISTRIBUTION, CHARACTER. 

THE primitive inhabitants of the New Workl were the Red men 
called Indians. The name Indian was conferred upon them from 
their real or fancied resemblance to the people of India. But without 
any such similarity the name would have been the same; for Colum- 
bus and his followers, believing that they had only rediscovered the 
Indies, would of course call the inhabitants Indians. The supposed 
similarity between the two races, if limited to mere personal appearance, 
had some foundation in flict; but in manners, customs, institutions, 
and character, no two peoples could be iijore dissimilar than the Amer- 
ican aborigines and the sleepy inhabitants of China and Japan. 

The origin of the North American Indians is involved in com- 
plete obscurity. That they are one of the older races of mankind can 
not be doubted. But at what date or by what route they came to the 
Western continent is an unsolved problem. Many theories have been 
proposed to account for the Red man's presence in the New World, 
but most of them have been vague and unsatisfactory. The notion that 
the Indians are the descendants of the Israelites is absurd. That half 
civilized tribes, wandering from beyond the Euphrates, should reach 
North America, surpasses human credulity. That Europeans or Afri- 
cans, at some remote period, crossed the Atlantic by voyaging from is- 
land to island, seems altogether improbable. That the Kamtchatkans, 
coming by way of Behring's Strait, reached the frozen North-west and 

(41) 



42 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

became the progenitors of the Red men, has no evidence other than 
conjecture to support it. Until further research shall throw additional 
light on the history and migrations of the primitive races of mankind, 
the origin of the Indians will remain shrouded in mystery. It is not 
unlikely that a more thorough knowledge of the North American lan- 
guages may furnish a clue to the early history of the tribes that spoke 
them. 

The Indians belong to the Ganowanian, or Bow-and-Arrow 
family of men. Some races cultivate the soil; others have herds and 
flocks; others build cities and ships. To the Red man of the Western 
continent the chase was every thing. Without the chase he pined and 
languished and died. To smite with swift arrow the deer and the bear 
was the sole delight and profit of the primitive Americans. Such a 
race could live only in a country of woods and Avild animals. The il- 
limitable hunting-grounds — forest, and hill, and river — were the In- 
dian's earthly paradise, and the type of his home hereafter. 

The American aborigines belonged to several distinct families or 
nations. Above the sixtieth parallel of latitude the whole continent 
from Labrador to Alaska was inhabited by the Esquimaux. The name 
means the eaters of raia meat. They lived in snow huts, or in hovels, 
partly or wholly underground. Sometimes their houses were more ar- 
tistically constructed out of the bones of whales and walruses. Their 
manner of life was that of fishermen and hunters. They clad them- 
selves in winter with the skins of seals, and in summer with those of 
reindeers. Inured to cold and exposure, they made long journeys in 
sledges drawn by dogs, or risked their lives in open boats fighting 
with whales and polar bears among the terrors of the icebergs. By 
eating abundantly of oils and fat meats they kept the fires of life 
a-burning, even amid the rigors and desolations of the Arctic winter. 

Lying south of the Esquimaux, embracing the greater part of 
Canada and nearly all that portion of the United States east of the 
.Mississippi and north of the thirty-seventh parallel of latitude, 
spread the great fiimily of the Algonquins. It appears that their 
original seat was on the Ottawa River. At the beginning of the sev- 
enteenth century the Algonquins numbered fully a quarter of a million. 
The tribes of this great family were nomadic in their habits, roaming 
from one hunting-ground and river to another, according to the exi- 
gencies of fishing and the chase. Agriculture was but little esteemed. 
They were divided into many subordinate tribes, each having its local 
name, dialect, and traditions. When the first European settlements 
were planted the Algonquin race was already declining in numbers 



\ ABORIGINAL AMERICA. 43 

and influence. Wasting diseases destroyed whole tribes. Of all the 
Indian nations the Algonquins suffered most from contact Avith the 
White man. Before his aggressive spirit, his fiery rum, and his de- 
structive weapons, the warriors Avere unable to stand. The race has 
withered to a shadoAv; only a few thousands remain to rehearse the 
story of their ancestors. 

AVithin the wide territory occupied by the Algonquins lived the 
powerful nation of the Huhox-Ieoquois. Their domain extended 
over the coiuitry reaching from Georgian Bay and Lake Huron to 
Lakes Erie and Ontario, south of those lakes to the valley of the LTp- 
pcr Ohio, and eastward to the River Sorel. Within this extensive dis- 
trict was a confederacy of vigorous tribes, having a common ancestry, 
and generally — though not always — acting together in Avar. At the 
time of their greatest poAver and influence the Huron-Iroquois em- 
braced no less than nine allied nations. These Avere the Hurons 
jjroper, li\nng north of Lake Erie; the Eries and Andastes, south of 
the same Avatcr; the Tuscaroras, of Carolina, Avho ultimately joined 
their kinsmen in the North; the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Onei- 
das, and ]\Iohawks, constituting the famous Five Nations of New York. 
The Avarrlors of this great confederation presented the Indian character 
in its most faA'orable aspect. They Avere brave, patriotic, and eloquent ; 
not Avholly aA'crse to useful Industry; liA'Ing in respectable A^Illages; 
tilling the soil AvIth considerable success; faithful as friends but terri- 
ble as enemies. 

South of the country of the Algonquins Avere THE Chekokees 
and THE MoBiLiAN Nations; the former occupying Tennessee, and 
the latter coA'crlng the domain betAveen the LoAver Mississippi and the 
Atlantic. The Cherokees Avere highly clAallzed for a primitlA'e peo- 
ple, and contact AvIth the Avhites seemed to improve rather than 
degrade them. The principal tribes of the Mobilians were the Ya- 
massees and Creeks of Georgia, the Seminoles of Florida, and the 
ChoctaAA's and ChlckasaAvs of Mississippi. These displayed the usual 
characteristics of the Bed men, Avith this additional circumstance, that 
beloAv the thirty-second parallel of latitude evidences of temple-build- 
ing, not practiced among the Northern tribes, began to appear. 

West of the Father of Waters Avas the great and Avidely-spread 
race of the Dakotas, Avhose territory extended from the Arkansas 
River to the country of the Esquimaux and AVCstAvard to the Rocky 
Mountains. Their languages and institutions, differing much among 
the A'arious tribes, are not so Avell understood as those of some other 
nations. South of the land of the Dakotas, in a district nearly cor- 



44 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

responding with the present State of Texas, lived the wild Coman- 
CHES, whose very name is a synonym for savage ferocity. Beyond the 
Eocky Mountains were the Indian nations of the Plains; the great 
family of the Shoshonees, the Selish, the Klamaths, and the 
Californians. On the Pacific slope farther southward dwelt in for- 
mer times the famous races of Aztecs and Toltecs. These were the 
most civilized of the primitive Indian nations, but at the same time 
amonir the most feeble ; the best builders in wood and stone, but the 
least warlike of any of the aborigines. Such is a brief sketch of the 
distribution of the copper-colored race in the New World. The ter- 
ritorial position of the various nations and tribes will be easily under- 
stood from an examination of the accompanying map. 

The Indians were strongly marked with national peculiarities. 
The most striking characteristic of the race was a certain sense of j^er- 
sonal independence — willfulness of action — freedom from restraint. To 
the Red man's imagination the idea of a civil authority which should 
subordinate his passions, curb his will, and thwart his purposes, was 
intolerable. Among this people no common enterprise was possible 
unless made so by the concurrence of free wills. If the chieftain 
entered the war-path, his kinsmen and the braves of other tribes fol- 
lowed him only because they chose his leadership. His authority and 
right of command extended no further than to be foremost in danger, 
most cunning in savage strategy, bravest in battle. So of all the 
relations of Indian life. The Medicine Man was a self-constituted 
physician and prophet. No man gave him his authority ; no man took 
it away. His right was his own ; and his influence depended upon 
himself and the voluntary respect of the nation. In the solemn de- 
bates of the Council House, wdiere the red orators pronounced their 
wild harangues to groups of motionless listeners, only questions of 
expediency were decided. The painted sachems never thought of 
imposing on the unwilling minority the decision which had been 
reached in council. 

Next among the propensities of the Ped men was the passion 
for war. Their Avars, however, were always undertaken for the re- 
dress of grievances, real or imaginary, and not for conquest. But 
with the Indian, a redress of grievances meant a j^ersonal, vindictive, 
and bloody vengeance on the oifender. The Indian's principles of 
war were easily understood, but irreconcilable with justice and hu- 
manity. The forgiveness of an injury was reckoned a weakness and 
a shame. Revenge was considered among the nobler virtues. The 
open, honorable battle of the field was an event unknown In Indian 




: ioJllrt k Folger Cin 



ABORIGINAL AMERICA. 



45 



warfare. Fighting was limited to the surprise, the ambuscade, the 
massacre ; and military strategy consisted of cunning and treachery. 
Quarter was rarely asked, and never granted ; those who were spared 
from the fight were only reserved for a barbarous captivity, ransom, 
or the stake. In the torture of his victims all the diabolical ferocity 
of the savage warrior's nature burst forth without restraint. 

In times of peace the Indian character shone to a better advan- 
tage. But the Red man was, at his best estate, an unsocial, solitary, 
and gloomy spirit. 
He was a man of 
the woods. He 
communed only 
with himself and 
the genius of sol- 
i t u d e . He sat 
apart. The forest 
was better than 
his wigwam, and 
his wigwam bet- 
ter than the vil- 
lage. The Indian 
woman was a de- 
graded creature, a 
drudge, a beast 
of burden ; 
the social 
ciple was 
respondingly 
The organization 
of the Indian fam- 
ily Avas so peculiar 
as to require a special consideration. Among civilized nations the 
family is so constructed that the lines of kinship diverge constantly 
from the line of descent, so that collateral kinsmen with each gen- 
eration stand at a still g-reater remove from each other. The above 
diagram will serve to show how in a European family the lines of 
consanguinity diverge until the kinship becomes so feeble as to be no 
longer recognized. It will be observed that this fact of constant di- 
vcrgence is traceable to the establishment of a male line of descent. 

In the Indian family all this is reversed. The descent is es- 
tablished in the female line; and as a consequence the ties of kinship 



and 
prin- 
cor- 

low. 




DIAGRAM OF EUROPEAN KINSHIP. 



46 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



converge upon each other until they all meet in the granddaughter. 
That is, in the aboriginal nations of North America, every grandson 
and granddaughter was the grandson and granddaughter of the whole 
tribe. This arose from the fact that all the uncles of a given person 
were reckoned as his fothers also; all the mother's sisters were mothers; 
all the cousins were sisters and brothers; all the nieces were daugh- 
ters ; all the nephews, sons, etc. This peculiarity of the Indian family 
organization is illustrated in the annexed diagram. 

Civil government 
among the Indian na- 
tions was in its primi- 
tive stages of develop- 
ment. Each tribe had 
its own sachem, or 
chieftain, to whom in 
matters of peace and 
war a tolerable degree 
of obedience was ren- 
dered. At times con- 
federations were form- 
ed, based either on ties 
of kinship or the exi- 
gencies of war. But 
these confederations 
were seldom enduring, 
and were likely at any 
time to be broken up 
by the barbarous pas- 
sion and insubordina- 
tion of the tribes who 
composed them. Sometimes a sachem would arise with such marked 
abilities, warlike prowess, and strength of will, as to gain an influence, 
if not a positive leadership over many nations. But with the death of 
the chieftain, or sooner, each tribe, resuming its independence, would 
return to its own ways. No general Indian Congress was known ; but 
national and tribal councils were frequently called to debate questions 
of policy and right. 

In matters of religion the Indians were a superstitious race, but 
seldom idolaters. They believed in a great spirit, everywhere present, 
ruling the elements, showing favor to the obedient, and punishing the 
sinful. Him they worshiped ; to him they sacrificed. But not in tem- 




DIAGRAM OF INDIAN KINSHIP. 



ABORIGINAL AMERICA. 47 

pies, for the Indians built none. They also believed in many subordi- 
nate spirits — some good, some bad. Both classes frequented the earth. 
The bad spirits brought evil dreams to the Indian ; diseases also, bad 
passions, cruel winters, and starvation. The good spirits brought sun- 
shine, peace, plentiful harvests, all the creatures of the chase. The 
Medicine Man, or Prophet, obtained a knowledge of these things by 
fasting and prayer, and then made revelations of the will and purposes 
of the spirit world. The religious ceremonies of the Indians were per- 
formed with great earnestness and solemn formality. 

In the matter of the arts the Indian was a barbarian. His house 
was a wigwam or hovel. Some poles set up in a circle, converging at 
the top, covered with skins and the branches of trees, lined and some- 
times floored with mats, a fire in the center, a low opening opposite 
the point from which the wind blew — such was the aboriginal abode 
of North America. Indian utensils were few, rude, and primitive. 
Poorly-fashioned earthen pots, bags and pouches for carrying provis- 
ions, and stone hammers for pounding parched corn, were the stock 
and store. A copper kettle was a priceless treasure. The warrior's 
chief implement was his hatchet of stone or copper. This he always 
carried' mth him, and it was rarely free from the stain of blood. His 
weapon of offence and defence was the bow and arrow, by no means 
an insignificant or feeble instrument. The arrow pointed with stone 
or iron was frequently driven entirely through the ponderous buffalo. 
The range of the winged missile was two hundred yards or more, and 
the aim was one of fatal accuracy when the White man was the tar- 
get. The Indian's clothing was a blanket, thrown over his shoulders, 
bound around him perhaps with a thong of leather. The material for 
his moccasins * and leggins was stripped from the red buck, elk, or 
buffalo. He was fond of hanging about his person an infinity of non- 
sensical trappings ; fangs of rattlesnakes, claws of hawks, feathers of 
eagles, bones of animals, scalps of enemies. He painted his face and 
body, specially when the passion of war w^as on him, Avith all manner 
of glaring and fantastic colors. So the Prophet of his nation taught 
him ; so he would be terrible to his enemies ; so he would exemplify 
the peculiarities of his nation and be unlike the Pale face. All the 
higher arts were wanting. Indian w^riting consisted only of quaint 
and half-intelligible hieroglyphics rudely scratched on the face of 
rocks or cut in the bark of trees. The artistic sense of the savage 
could rise no higher than a coarse necessity compelled the flight. 

The language spoken by a people is always a matter of special 
* The Algonquin Avord is makisin. 



48 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 





^•M^ 



SPECIMEN OF INDIAN WRITING. 



interest and importance. The dialects of the North American races 
bear many and evident marks of resemblance among themselves; but 
little or no analogy to the languages of other nations. If there is any 
similarity at all, it is found between the Indian tongues and those 

spoken by the 
nomadic races 
of Asia. The 
vocabulary of 
the lied men 
was a very 
limited one. 
The principal 
objects of na- 
ture had spec- 
ial names, and 
actions av e r e 
likewise spe- 
cifically ex- 
pressed. Ab- 
stract ideas but 
rarely f o u n d 
expression in 

any of the Indian languages ; such ideas could only be expressed by 
a long and labored circumlocution. Words had a narrow but very 
intense meaning. There was, for instance, no general word signify- 
ing to hunt or to fish; but one word signified " to-kill-a-deer-with-an- 
arrow ; " another, " to-take-fish-by-striking-the-ice." In most of the 
dialects there was no word for brother; but "elder-brother" and 
" younger-brother " could be expressed. Among many of the tribes 
the meanings of words and phrases were so restricted that the war- 
rior would use one set of terms and the squaw another to express 
the same ideas. The languages were monosyllabic ; but many of the 
monosyllables might be combined to form compounds resembling the 
polysyllables of European tongues. These compounds, expressing ab- 
stract and difficult ideas, were sometimes inordinately long,* the whole 
forming an explanation or description of the thing rather than a sin- 
gle word. Scholars have applied the term agglutinative to those lan- 
guages in which such labored and tedious forms of expression occur. 
Of this sort are the tongues spoken by the nomadic races of Asia. 

"•■• For instance, in the Massacluisetts dialect, the form of speech meaning "our ques- 
iion " was this : Kum-moK-ko-don-at-toot-tiuu-moo-et-it-e-a-onK-an-nun-non-ash. 



Translation: Eight soldiers (9), with muskets (10), commanded by a cap- 
tain (1), and accompanied by a secretary (2), a geologist (^3), three attend- 
ants (4, 5, 6), and two Indian guides, encamped here. They had three 
camp fires (13, 14, 15), and ate a turtle and a prairie hen (11, 12), for supper. 



ABORIGINAL AMERICA. 



49 




In personal ajjpearance the Indians were strongly marked. In 
stature they were nearly all below the average of Europeans. The 
Esquimaux are rarely five feet high, but are generally thick-set and 
heavy. The Algonquins are taller and lighter in build; a straight and 
agile race, lean and 
swift of foot. Eyes 
jet-black and sunk- 
en ; hair black and 
straight; beard black 
and scant; skin 
copper-colored, a red- 
dish -black, cin- 
namon-hued, brown ; 
high cheek bones ; 
forehead and skull 
variable in shape and 
p r o p o r t i o n ; hands 
and feet small ; body 
lithe but not strong; 
expression sinister, or 
rarely dignified and 
noble : — these are the 
well-known features 
and person of the 
Indian. 

Though gener- 
ally sedate in man- 
Mers and serious in 
behavior, the Red men at times gave themselves up to merry-ma king'' 
and hilarity. The dance was universal — not the social dance of civ- 
ilized nations, but the dance of ceremony, of religion, and of war. 
Sometimes the warriors danced alone, but frequently the women joined' 
in the wild exercise, circling around and around, chanting the weird, 
monotonous songs of the tribes. Many other amusements were com- • 
mon, such as running, leaping, wrestling, shooting at a mark, racing- 
in canoes along swift rivers or placid lakes, playing at ball, or eii^ 
gaging in intricate and exciting games, performed with small stones- 
resembling checkers or dice. To this latter sport was not unfre- 
quently added the intoxication of gambling, in which the warriors, 
under the influence of their fierce passion, would often hazard and 

■■■■" An authentic portrait of the celebrated Black Hawk, chief of the Sacs and Foxes. 
4 




A NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN/' 



50 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

lose their entire possessions. In soberer moments, the Red men, 
never inclined to conversation, would sit in silence, communing each 
with his own thoughts or lost in a dream under the fascination of 
his pipe. The use of tobacco was universal and excessive ; and after 
the introduction of* intoxicating liquors by the Europeans the Indi- 
ans fell into terrible drunkenness, only limited in its extent by the 
amount of spirits which they could procure. It is doubtful whether 
any other race has been so awfully degraded by drink. 

Such is a brief sketch of the Red man — who was rather than is. 
The only hope of the perpetuity of his race seems now to center in 
the Choctaws, Clierokees, Creeks and Chickasaws of the Indian Ter- 
ritory. These nations, numbering in the aggregate about forty-eight 
thousand souls, have attained a considerable degree of civilization ; 
and with just and liberal dealing on the part of the Government the 
outlook for the future is not discouraging. Most of the other Indian 
tribes seem to be rapidly approaching extinction. Right or wrong, 
such is the logic of events. Whether the Red man has been justly 
deprived of the ownership of the New World will remain a subject 
of debate ; that he has been deprived, can be none. The Saxon has 
come. His conquering foot has trodden the vast domain from shore to 
shore. The weaker race has withered from his presence and sword. 
By the majestic rivers and in the depths of the solitary woods the 
feeble sons of the Bow and Arrow will be seen no more. Only their 
names remain on hill and stream and mountain. The Red man sinks 
and fails. His eyes are to the West. To the prairies and forests, the 
hunting-grounds of his ancestors, he says farewell. He is gone ! The 
cypress and the hemlock sing his requiem. 



PART II. 

YOYAGE AI^D DISCOYEEY. 

A. ». 9S6-1607. 



CHAPTEE II. 

THE ICELANDERS AND NORWEGIANS IN AMERICA. 

THE western continent was first seen by white men in A. D. 986. 
A Norse navigator by the name of Herjulfson, sailing from 
Iceland to Greenland, was caught in a storm and driven westward to 
Newfoundland or Labrador. Two or three times the shores were 
seen, but no landing was made or attempted. The coast was low, 
abounding in forests, and so different from the well-known cliffs of 
Greenland as to make it certain that another shore hitherto unknown 
was in sight. On reaching Greenland, Herjulfson and his companions 
told wonderful stories of the new lands seen in the west. 

Fourteen years later, the actual discovery of America was made 
by Lief Erickson. This noted Icelandic captain, resolving to know 
the truth about the country which Herjulfson had seen, sailed west- 
ward from Greenland, and in the spring of the year 1001 reached 
Labrador. Impelled by a spirit of adventure, he landed with his 
companions, and made explorations for a considerable distance along 
the coast. The country was milder and more attractive than his own, 
and he was in no haste to return. Southward he went as far as 
Massachusetts, where the daring company of Norsemen remained for 
more than a year, Rhode Island was also visited ; and it is alleged 
that the hardy adventurers found their way into New York harbor. 

What has once been done, whether by accident or design, may 
easily be done again. In the years that followed Lief Erickson's dis- 
covery, other companies of Norsemen came to the shores of America. 
Thorwald, Lief 's brother, made a voyage to Maine and Massachu- 
setts in 1002, and is said to have died at Fall River in the latter state. 

(51) 



52 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 







Then another brother, Thorstein by name, arrived with a band of 
followers in 1005 ; and in the year 1007, Thorfinn Karlsefxe, the 
most distinguished mariner of his day, came with a crew of a hundred 
and fifty men, and made explorations along the coast of Massachusetts, 

Rhode Island, and jjcr- 
haps as far south as the 
capes of Virginia. Other 
companies of Icelanders 
and Norwegians visited 
the countries farther 
north, and planted col- 
onies in Newfoundland 
and Nova Scotia. Little, 
however, was known or 
imagined by these rude 
sailors of the extent of 
the country which they 
had discovered. They 
supposed that it was only 
a portion of Western 
Greenland, which, bend- 
ing to the north around 
an arm of the ocean, had 
reappeared in the west. 
The settlements which 
were made, were feeble and soon broken up. Commerce was an im- 
possibility in a country where there were only a few wretched savages 
with no disposition to buy and nothing at all to sell. The spirit of 
adventure was soon appeased, and the restless Northmen returned to 
their own country. To this undefined line of coast, now vaguely 
known to them, the Norse sailors gave the name of Vinland; and 
the old Icelandic chroniclers insist that it was a pleasant and beauti- 
ful country. As compared with their own mountainous and frozen 
island of the North, the coasts of New England may well have seemed 
delightful. 

The men Avho thus first visited the shores of the New World 
were a race of hardy adventurers, as lawless and restless as any that 
ever sailed the deep. Their mariners and soldiers penetrated every 
clime. The better parts of France and England fell under their do- 
minion. All the monarchs of the latter country after William the 
Conqueror — himself the grandson of a sea-king — are descendants of 











NORSE EXPLORATIONS. 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 



53 



the Norsemen. They were rovers of the sea; freebooters and pi- 
rates; warriors andacious and headstrong, wearing hoods surmounted 
with eagles' wings and walruses' tusks, mailed armor, and for robes the 
skins of polar bears. Woe to the people on whose defenceless coasts 
the sea-kings landed with sword and torch! Their wayward life and 
ferocious disposition are well portrayed in one of their own old bai- 
lie scorns to rest 'neath the smoky rafter, 

He plows with his boat the roaring deep ; 
The billows boil and the storm howls after — 
But the tempest is only a thing of laughter, — 
The sea-king loves it better than sleep ! 

During the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries occa- 
sional voyages continued to be made; and it is said that as late as 
A. D. 1347 a Norwegian ship visited Labrador and the north-eastern 
parts of the United States. The Norse remains which have been 
found at Newport, at Garnet ^-^^ 
Point, and several other 
places seem to point clearly 
to some such events as are 
here described; and the Ice- 
landic historians give a uni- 
form and tolerably consistent 
account of these early ex- 
ploits of their countrymen. 
When the word America is 
mentioned in the hearing of 
the Icelandic schoolboys, they 
will at once answer, wnth en- 
thusiasm, " Oh, yes ; Lief Er- 
ickson discovered that country 
in the year 1001." 

An event is to be 
weighed by its consequences. 
From the discovery of Amer- 
ica by the Norsemen, nothing 
wdiatever resulted. The 
world was neither wiser nor better. Among the Icelanders themselves 
the place and the very name of Vinland were forgotten. Europe 
never heard of such a country or such a discovery. Historians have 
until late years been incredulous on the subject, and the fact is as 
though it had never been. The curtain which had been lifted for a 




A NORSE SEA-KING OF THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. 



54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

moment was stretched again from sky to sea, and the New World 
still lay hidden in the shadows. * 



CHAPTER III. 

SPANISH DISCO VEBIES IN AMERICA. 

IT was reserved for the people of a sunnier clime than Iceland first to 
make known to the European nations the existence of a Western con- 
tinent. Spain was the happy country under whose auspicious patronage 
a new Avorld was to be added to the old ; but the man who was destined 
to make the revelation was not himself a Spaniard : he was to come from 
genial Italy, the land of olden valor and the home of so much greatness. 
Cheistopher Columbus was the name of that man whom after ages 
have justly rewarded with imperishable fame. 

The idea that the world is round was not original with Columbus. 
Others before him had held a similar belief; but the opinion had been so 
feebly and uncertainly entertained as to lead to no practical results. 
Copernicus, the Prussian astronomer, had not yet taught, nor had Galileo, 
the great Italian, yet demonstrated, the true system of the universe. The 
English traveler. Sir John Mandeville, had declared in the very first 
English book that ever was written (A. D. 1356) that the world is a 
sphere; that he himself, when traveling northward, had seen the polar 
star approach the zenith, and that on going southward the antarctic con- 
stellations had risen overhead ; and that it was both possible and practicable 
for a man to sail around tlie world and return to the place of starting : 
but neither Sir John himself nor any other seaman of his times was bold 
enough to undertake so hazardous an enterprise.f Columbus was, 
no doubt, the first practical believer in the theory of circumnaviga- 
tion ; and although he never sailed around the world himself, he 
demonstrated the possibility of doing so. 

« As to the reality of the Norse discoveries in America, the following from Hum- 
boldt's Cosmos, Vol. 11., pp. 269-272, may be cited as conclusive: "We are here on 
historical ground. Bv the critical and highly praiseworthy efforts of Professor Rafn 
and tlie Eoyal Society of Antiquaries in Copenhagen, the Sagas and documents in 
regard to the expeditions of the Norsemen to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and 
Vinland have been published and satisfiictorily commented upon. *" * * *' The d>s- 
cmery of the northern 'part of America by the Norsemen can not be disputed. The length 
of the voyage,' the direction in which they sailed, the time of the sun's rising and 
.setting, are accurately given. While the Caliphate of Bagdad was still flourish- 
jijcr^ •» » «- * America was discovered about the year A. D. 1000, by Lief, the son 
of Eric the Red, at the latitude of forty-one and a-half degrees north." 

t See Appendix A. 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 



55 



The great mistake with Cokimbus and others who shared his opinions 
was not concerning the figure of the earth, but in regard to its size. He 
believed the world to be no more than ten thousand or twelve thousand 
miles in circumference. He therefore confidently expected that after sail- 
ing about three thousand miles to the westward he should arrive at the 
East Indies ; and to do that was the one great purpose of his life. 

Christopher Columbus was born at Genoa, a seacoast town of North- 
western Italy, in A. D. 1435. He was carefully educated, and then devoted 

himself to the sea. His 
ancestors had been sea- 
men before him. His 
own inclination as well 
as his early training 
made him a sailor. 
For twenty years he 
traversed the Mediter- 
ranean and the parts 
of the Atlantic adjacent 
to Europe; he visited 
Iceland ; then went to 
Portugal, and finally 
to Spain. The idea 
of reaching the Indies 
by crossing the Atlan- 
tic had already pos- 
sessed him. For more 
than ten years the poor 
enthusiast was a beg- 
gar, going from court 
to court, explaining to dull monarchs and bigoted monks the figure of 
the earth and the ease with which the rich islands of the East might be 
reached by sailing westward. He found one appreciative listener, after- 
ward his constant and faithful friend — the noble and sympathetic Isa- 
bella, queen of Castile. Be it never forgotten that to the faith, and 
insight, and decision of a woman the final success of Columbus must be 
attributed. 

On the morning of the 3d day of August, 1492, Columbus, with 
his three ships, left the harbor of Palos. After sevent}-one days of 
sailing, in the early dawn of October 12, Eodrigo Triana, who chanced 
to be on the lookout from the Pinta, set up a shout of "Land!'' A gun 
was fired as the signal. The ships lay to. There was music and jubilee j 




CHKISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 



56 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and just at sunrise Columbus himself first stepped ashore, shook out the 
royal banner of Castile in the presence of the wondering natives, and 
named the island San Salvador. During the three remaining months 
of this first voyage the islands of Concej)cion, Cuba and Hayti were 
added to the list of discoveries ; and on the bay of Caracola, in the last- 
named island, was erected out of the timbers of the Santa Maria a fort, 
the first structure built by Europeans in the New World. In the early 
part of January^ 1493, Columbus sailed for Spain, where he arrived in 
March, and was everywhere greeted with rejoicings and applause. 

In September of the following autumn Columbus sailed on his second 
voyage. He still believed that by this route westward he should reach, 
if indeed he had not already reached, the Indies. The result of the 
second voyage was the discovery of the Windward group and the islands 
of Jamaica and Porto Rico. It was at this time that the first colony was 
established in Hayti and Columbus's brother appointed governor. After 
an absence of nearly three years, Columbus returned to Spain in the sum- 
mer of 1496 — returned to find himself the victim of a thousand bitter 
jealousies and suspicions. All the rest of his life was clouded with perse- 
cutions and misfortunes. He made a third voyage, discovered the island 
of Trinidad and the mainland of South America, near the mouth of the 
Orinoco. Thence he sailed back to Hayti, where he found his colony 
disorganized ; and here, while attempting to restore order, he was seized 
by Bobadilla, an agent of the Spanish government, put in chains and car- 
ried to Spain. After a disgraceful imprisonment, he was liberated and 
sent on a fourth and last voyage in search of the Indies ; but besides 
making some explorations along the south side of the Gulf of Mexico, 
the expedition accomplished nothing, and Columbus, overwhelmed with 
discouragements, returned once more to his ungrateful country. The 
good Isabella was dead, and the great discoverer found himself at last a 
friendless and despised old man tottering into the grave. Death came, 
and fame afterward. 

Of all the ^vTongs done to the memory of Columbus, perhaps 
the greatest was that which robbed him of the name of the new conti- 
nent. This was bestowed upon one of the least worthy of the many 
adventurers whom the genius and success of Columbus had drawn to tlie 
West. In the year 1499, Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator 
of some daring but no great celebrity, reached the eastern coast of South 
America. It does not appear that liis explorations there Avere of any 
great importance. Two years later he made a second voyage, and then 
hastened home to give to Europe the first published account of the 
Western World. Vespucci's only merit consisted in his recognition of 



lOOO 



Central Period of 
the Middle Ages. 

35. Union of 

24 Conrad II. 

39. Henry the 
Black. 

56. Henry IV. 

HOUSE OF CAPET IN 
FEANOE. 

17. Canute. 

G6. Wil 

DANISH KINGS IN ENG- 
LAND, 

The NOEMANS. 



IIOO 



i:soo 



13< 



Castile and Leon. 

52. Freder 

The CEU 

S. Louis VI. 

37. Louis VII. 

SO. Philip II. 
71. Conquest 
35. Stephen. 

Henry I. 

liani I. 

54. Henry II. 

89. Ri 

The PLANTAGENETS. 



i|^?*- -LIEF EEIOKSON, 

au Icelanilit' iiavitra- 
tor, sailinu- westward 
fniin (irri'iihuul, dis- 
covers the coast of 
Labrador, and makes 
explorations as far 
south as IMiude 
Island. 

Bjarne Herjulfson driven by 
a storm witliin sight of the 
American coast a. d. 9S6. 

'2. Thorwald Erickson re- 
turns to America and re- 
mains three years. 

5. Thorstein Erickson co 
7. Thorfinn Karlsefne ex 



"■■" AMERICA 



ick Barbarossa 

SADES. 

26. Louis IX. 85. P 
of Ireland. 

5. Mas^na Cliarta 



15 
chard I. 

Heroic Ase. 



72. Ed 



THE WESTERN CONTINENT UNKNOWN TO 

21. Erik Up si sent as bishop to Viiilaud. 



^ ^<j>. 



hilip ] 

It 



grai 
war< 

7. E 



:^ 



.\^ 



"^^^CTct.v^ 



mes to America. 

plores the coast of Massachus 



etts. 



UNDER THE ABORI 



Gi; 




Icelandic discoveries i 
Spanish " 

English " 

French " 

Portugese " 



» 



1400 



1500 



1600 





3o. Colunibvis 


born. 






15. John Huss. 






56. First book written in English, in 98. 
which the author,Sir John Mande- 
ville, decl ares the spherical figure 
of the ea rth and the jiracticabil- 
ity of circumnavigation. 

80. Cha rJes VI. PRINTING IN 


De Gama doubles the Cape 
of Good Hope and reaches 
the East Indies. 

Luther 

VENTED. 


48. Treaty of 

Westpha- 
lia. 


•hilip V. 

i. HOUSE OF VA- 
LOIS. 

77. Ric 


22. Charles VII. 

61. Louis XI. 

85. Hen 
hard II. 


The Reforma 
19. Charles V._^ 
15. Francis I. '^ so! 
9. John Calvin. 

ry VII. 

The PUEITANS. 


tion. 

Bartholomew- 
Henry IV. 

10. Louis XIII. 

43. Louis XIY 


ed. 


74. Fer 


dinand and Isabella. 




[. 


Wars of the Roses. 


9. Henry VIII. 

47. EdAvard VI. 


3. James I. 


ard II. 


The LANOASTEES 


53. Mary. 


25. Charles I. 


Wicklitfe. 




58, Eliza 


beth. 


Edward III. 


The YOEES. 


The TUDOES. 


The STUAETS 










84. R 


aleigh attempts 
to found a colo- 


F FIIRAiPFAM MATinMC 97. 


John Cabot 


t tUnUrLAN 


nn 1 IV7I10I 


discovers North America. 


ny in Virginia. 




76. Fro 


bisher. 


MJS 


m ''■ 


24. Verrazzani. 


7. Settlement at 
JamestoAvn. 


Sebastian Cabot. 


79. Sir 


Francis Drake 


1 ^^ 


34. Cartier. 

98. 

28. DeNarvaez. 


De La Roche. 
7. Hudson. 




62. Ribault 


with the Hu'rue- 


47. A company of 


Norsemen in America. 

99. 


42. Roberval. 
Amerigo Vespucci. 


nots. 
4. De Montsi 
and Cham- 
plaiii. 


AT. TT^TT^T^ci 


60. Laudon 


niere. 


-CA-i-J JL XV J. 


92. 


Discovery of Amer- 
ica by Columbus. 

65. Melen 


5. Port Royal 

founded. 
8. Quebec 
founded b\- 
Chaniplain. 




dez. 


treen. 
fellow, 
led. 
nue. 




25. De Ayllon's voyage. 

13. Ponce de Leon's ex- 
plorations. 


20. The Pu- 
ritans at 
Plymouth. 


Jrown. 




39. De Soto. 
1. Cortereal. 


2. Gosnold. 






65. St. Aug 


ustine founded. 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 57 

the fact that the recent discoveries were not a portion of that India already 
known, but were in reality another continent. In his published narrative 
all reference to Columbus was carefully omitted ; and thus through his 
own craft, assisted by the unappreciative dullness of the times, the name 
of this Vespucci rather than that of the true discoverer was given to the 
New World./ 

The discovery of America produced great excitement throughout 
the states of Western Europe. In Spain especially there was wonderful 
zeal and enthusiasm. Within ten years after the death of Columbus, the 
principal islands of the West Indies were explored and colonized. In the 
year 1510 the Spaniards planted on the Isthmus of Darien their first con- 
tinental colony. Three years later, Vasco Nunez be Balboa, the 
governor of the colony, learning from the natives that another ocean lay 
only a short distance to the westward, crossed the isthmus and from an 
eminence looked down upon the Pacific. Not satisfied with merely seeing 
the great water, he waded in a short distance, and drawing his sword 
after the pompous Spanish fashion, took possession of the ocean in the 
name of the king of Spain. 

Meanwhile, Juan Ponce de Leon, who had been a companion 
of Columbus on his second voyage, fitted out a private expedition of dis- 
covery and adventure. De Leon had grown rich as governor of Porto 
Rico, and while growing rich had also grown old. But there was a foun- 
tain of perpetual youth somewhere in the Bahamas — so said all the learn- 
ing and intelligence of Spain — and in that fountain the wrinkled old 
cavalier would bathe and be young again. So in the year 1512 he set 
sail from Porto Rico ; and stopping first at San Salvador and the neighbor- 
ing islands, he came, on Easter Sunday, the 27th of March, in sight of an 
unknown shore. He supposed that another island more beautiful than 
the rest was discovered. There were waving forests, green leaves, birds 
of song and the fragrance of blossoms. Partly in honor of the day, called 
in the ritual of the Church Pascua Florida, and partly to describe the 
delightful landscape that opened on his sight, he named the new shore 
Florida — the Land of Flowers. 

After a few davs a landing was effected a short distance north of 
where, a half century later, were laid the foundations of St. Augustine. 
The country was claimed for the king of Spain, and the search for the 
youth-restoring fountain was eagerly prosecuted. The romantic adven- 
turer turned southward, explored the coast for many leagues, discovered 
and named the Tortugas, doubled Cape Florida, and then sailed back to 
Porto Rico, not perceptibly younger than when he started/ 

The king of Spain rewarded Ponce with the governorship of his 



58 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Land of Flowers, and sent him thither again to establish a colony. The 
aged veteran did not, however, reach his province until the year 1521, 
and then it was only to find the Indians in a state of bitter hostility. 
Scarcely had he landed when they fell upon him in a furious battle; 
many of the Spaniards were killed outright, and the rest had. to betake 
themselves to the sliips for safety. Ponce de Leon himself received a 
mortal wound from an arrow, and was carried back to Cuba to die. 



CHAPTER lY. 

SPANISH DISCOVERIES IN AMERICA.— CONTINUED. 

THE year 1517 was marked by the discovery of Yucatan and the Bay 
of Campeachy by Fernandez de Cordova. While exploring the 
northern coast of the country, his company was attacked by the natives, 
and he himself mortally wounded. During the next year the coast of 
Mexico was explored for a great distance by Grijalva, assisted by Cor- 
dova's pilot; and in the year 1519, Fernando Cortez landed with his 
fleet at Tabasco and began his famous conquest of Mexico, 

As soon as the news of the invasion spread abroad, the subjects 
of the Mexican empire were throWn into consternation. Armies of 
native warriors gathered to resist the jDrogress of the Spaniards, but 
were dispersed by the invaders. After freeing the coast of his oppo- 
nents, Cortez proceeded westward to Yera Cruz, a seaport one hun- 
dred and eighty miles south-east of the Mexican capital. Here he 
was met by ambassadors from the celebrated Montezuma, emperor 
of the country. From him they delivered messages and exhibited 
great anxiety lest Cortez should march into the interior. He as- 
sured them that such was indeed his purpose ; that his business in 
the country was urgent; and that he must confer with Montezuma 
in person. 

The ambassadors tried in vain to dissuade the terrible Spaniard. 
They made him costly presents, and then hastened back to their 
alarmed sovereign. Montezuma immediately despatched them a sec- 
ond time with presents still more valuable, and with urgent appeals 
to Cortez to proceed no farther. But the cupidity of the Spaniards 
was now inflamed to the highest pitch, and burning their ships behind 
them, they began their march towards the capital. The Mexican em- 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 



59 



peror by his messengers forbade their approach to his city. Still they 
pressed on. The nations tributary to Montezuma threw off their al- 
leo-iance, made peace with the conqueror, and even joined his stand- 
ard. The irresolute and vacillating Indian monarch knew not what 
to do. The Span- 
iards came in sight 
of the city — a glit- 
tering and splen- 
did vision of spires 
and temples ; and 
the poor INIontezu- 
ma came forth to 
receive his remorse- 
less enemies. On 
the morning of the 
8th of November, 
1519, the Spanish 
army marched over 
the causeway lead- 
ing into the Mexi- 
can capital and was 
quartered in the 
great central square 
near the temple of 
the Aztec god of 
war. 

It was now winter time. For a month Cortez remained quietly 
in the city. He was permitted to go about freely with his soldiers, 
and was even allowed to examine the sacred altars and shrines where 
human sacrifices were daily offered up to the deities of Mexico. He 
made himself familiar with the defences of the capital and the Mex- 
ican mode of warfare. On every side he found inexhaustible stores 
of provisions, treasures of gold and silver, and what greatly excited 
his solicitude, arsenals filled with bows and javelins. But although 
surrounded with splendor and abundance, his own situation became 
extremely critical. The millions of natives who swarmed around him 
were becoming familiar with his troops and no longer believed them 
immortal. There were mutterings of an outbreak which threatened to 
overwhelm him in an hour. In this emergency the Spanish general 
adopted the bold and unscrupulous expedient of seizing Montezuma 
and holding him as a hostage. A plausible pretext for this outrage 
was found in the fact that the Mexican governor of the province 




FERNANDO CORTEZ. 



GO HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

adjacent to Vera Cruz had attacked the Spanish garrison at that place, 
and that Montezuma himself had acted with hostility and treachery 
towards the Spaniards while they were marching on the city. As soon 
as the emperor was in his power, Cortez compelled him to acknowledge 
himself a vassal of the king of Spain and to agree to the payment of 
a sum amounting to six million three hundred thousand dollars, with 
an annual tribute afterwards. 

In the mean time, Velasquez, the Spanish governor of Cuba, 
jealous of the fame of Cortez, had despatched a force to Mexico to 
arrest his progress and to supersede him in the command. The ex- 
pedition was led by Pamphilo de Narvaez, the same who was 
afterwards governor of Florida. His forces consisted of more than 
twelve hundred well armed and well disciplined soldiers, besides a 
thousand Indian servants and guides. But the vigilant Cortez had 
meanwhile been informed by messengers from A'^era Cruz of the 
movement which his enemies at home had set on foot against him, 
and he determined to sell his command only at the price of his own 
life and the lives of all his followers. He therefore instructed Al- 
varado, one of his subordinate officers, to remain in the capital with 
a small force of a hundred and forty men ; and with the remainder, 
numbering less than two hundred, he himself hastily withdrew from 
the city and proceeded by a forced march to encounter De Narvaez 
on the sea-coast. On the night of the 26th of May, 1520, while the 
soldiers of the latter were quietly asleep in their camp near Vera 
Cruz, Cortez burst upon them with the fury of despair, and before 
they could rally or well understand the terrible onset, compelled the 
whole force to surrender. Then, adding the general's skill to the 
warrior's prowess, he succeeded in inducing the conquered army to 
join his own standard ; and with his forces thus augmented to six 
times their original numbers he began a second time his march to- 
wards the capital. 

While Cortez was absent on this expedition, the Mexicans of 
the capital rose in arms, and the possession of the country was staked 
on the issue of war. Alvarado, either fearing a revolt or from a 
spirit of atrocious cruelty, had attacked the Mexicans while they 
were celebrating one of their festivals, and slain five hundred of the 
leaders and priests. The people in a frenzy of astonishment and rage 
flew to their arms and laid siege to the palace where Alvarado and 
his men were fortified. The Spaniards were already hard pressed 
when Cortez at the head of his new army reached the city. He en- 
tered without o])position and joined Alvarado's command ; but the 
passions of the Mexicans were now thoroughly aroused, and not all 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 61 

the diplomacy of the Spanish general could again bring them into 
subjection. In a few days the conflict began in earnest. The streets 
were deluged with the blood of tens of thousands ; and not a few of 
the Spaniards fell before the vengeance of the native warriors. For 
months there was almost incessant fighting in and around the city ; and 
it became evident that the Spaniards must ultimately be overwhelmed 
and destroyed. 

To save himself from his peril, Cortez adopted a second shame- 
less expedient, more wicked than the first. Montezuma was compelled 
to go upon the top of the palace in front of the great square where the 
besiegers were gathered and to counsel them to make peace with the 
Spaniards. For a moment there was universal silence, then a murmur 
of vexation and rage, and then Montezuma Avas struck down by the 
javelins of his own subjects. In a few days he died of wretchedness 
and despair, and for a while the warriors, overwhelmed with remorse, 
abandoned the conflict. But with the renewal of the strife Cortez was 
obliged to leave the city. Finally a great battle was fought, and the 
Spanish arms and valor triumphed. In the crisis of the struggle the 
sacred Mexican banner was struck down and captured. Dismay seized 
the hosts of puny warriors, and they fled in all directions. In De- 
cember of 1520, Cortez again marched on the capital. A siege, last- 
ing until August of the following year, ensued ; and then the famous 
city yielded. The empire of the Montezumas was overthrown, and 
Mexico became a Spanish province. 

Among the many daring enterprises which marked the beginning 
of the sixteenth century, that of Ferdinand Magellan is worthy 
of special mention. A Portuguese by birth, a navigator by profession, 
this man, so noted for extraordinary boldness and ability, determined 
to discover a south-west rather than a north-west passage to Asia. 
With this object in view, he appealed to the king of Portugal for 
ships and men. The monarch listened coldly, and did nothing to 
give encouragement. Incensed at this treatment, Magellan threw ofiP 
his allegiance, went to Spain — the usual resort of disappointed sea- 
men — and laid his plans before Charles V. The emperor caught 
eagerly at the opportunity, and ordered a fleet of five ships to be im- 
mediately fitted at the public expense and properly manned with 
crews. 

The voyage w^as begun from Seville in August of 1519. Sailing 
southward across the equinoctial line, Magellan soon reached the coast 
of South America, and spent the autumn in explorations, hoping to find 
some strait that should lead him westward into that ocean which Balboa 
had discovered six years previously. Not at first successful in this effort, 



62 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

he passed the winter — which was summer on that side of the equator — • 
somewhere on the coast of Brazil. Renewing his voyage southward, he 
came at last to the eastern mouth of that strait which still bears the name 
of its discoverer, and passing through it found himself in the open and 
boundless ocean. The weather was beautiful, and the peaceful deep was 
called the Pacific. 

Setting his prows to the north of west, Magellan now held steadily 
on his course for nearly four months, suffering much meanwhile from 
want of water and scarcity of provisions. In March of 1520 he came to 
the group of islands called the Ladrones, situated about midway between 
Australia and Japan. Sailing still westward, he reached the Philippine 
group, where he was killed in a battle with the natives. But the fleet was 
now less than four hundred miles from China, and the rest of the route 
was easy. A new captain was chosen, and the voyage continued by way 
of the Moluccas, where a cargo of spices was taken on board for the market 
of Western Europe. Only a single ship was deemed in a fit condition to 
venture on the homeward voyage ; but in this vessel the crews embarked, 
and returning by way of the Cape of Good Hope arrived in Spain on the 
17th day of September, 1522. The circunniavigation of the globe, long 
believed in as a possibility, had now become a thing of reality. The 
theory of the old astronomers, of Mandeville and of Columbus had 
been proved by actual demonstration. 

The next important voyage undertaken to the shores of America was 
in the year 1520. Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, who had been a judge 
in St. Domingo and had acquired great riches, conducted the expedition. 
He and six other wealthy men, eager to stock their plantations with slaves, 
determined to do so by kidnapping natives from the neighboring Bahamas. 
Two vessels were fitted out for the purpose, and De Ayllon commanded 
in person. When the vessels Avere nearing their destination, they encoun- 
tered a storm which drove them northward about a hundred and fifty 
leagues, and brought them against the coast of South Carolina. The ships 
entered St. Helena Sound and anchored in the mouth of the Cambahee 
River. The name of Chicora was given to the country, and the river was 
called the Jordan. The timid but friendly natives, as soon as their fears 
had subsided, began to make presents to the strangers and to treat them 
with great cordiality. They flocked on board the ships ; and when the 
decks were crowded, De Ayllon, watching his opportunity, weighed 
anchor and sailed away. A few days afterward an avenging storm sent 
one of the ships to the bottom of tlie sea, and death came mercifully to 
most of the poor wretches who wxre huddled under the hatches of the 
other. 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 63 

Going at once to Spain, De Ayllon repeated the story of liis exploit 
to Charles V., who rewarded him with the governorship of Chicora and 
the privilege of conquest. Returning to his province ni 1525, he found 
the natives intensely hostile. His best ship ran aground in the mouth 
of the Jordan, and the outraged Indians fell upon him with fury, killing 
many of the treacherous crew, and making the rest glad enougli to get 
away v/ith their lives. De Ayllon himself returned to St. Domingo 
humiliated and ruined. Thus ended the first disgraceful effort to enslave 
the Indians. 

In the year 1526, Charles V. appointed the unprincipled Pamphilo 
DE Naevaez governor of Florida, and to the appointment was added 
the usual privilege of conquest. The territory thus placed at his disposal 
extended from Cape Sable fully three-fifths of the way around the Gulf 
of jNIexico, and was limited on tlie south-west by the mouth of the River 
of Palms. With this extensive commission De Narvaez arrived at Tampa 
Bay in the month of April, 1528. His force consisted of two hundred 
and sixty soldiers and forty horsemen. The natives treated them with 
suspicion, and, anxious to be rid of the intruders, began to hold up their 
.gold trinkets and to point to the north. The hint was eagerly caught at 
by the avaricious Spaniards, whose imaginations were set on fire with the 
sight of the precious metal. They struck boldly into the forests, expect- 
iiig io find cities and empires, and found instead swamps and savages. 
They reached the Withlacoochie and crossed it by swimming, they passed 
over the Suwanee in a canoe wliich they made for the occasion, and finally 
came to Apalachee, a squalid village of forty cabins. This, then, was the 
mighty city to which their guides had directed them. 

Oppressed with fatigue and goaded by hunger, they plunged again 
into the woods, wading through lagoons and assailed by lurking savages, 
until at last they reached the sea at the harbor of St. Mark's. Here they 
expected to find their ships, but not a ship was there, or had been. With 
great labor they constructed some brigantines, and put to sea in the vain 
hope of reaching the Spanish settlements in Mexico. They were tossed 
by storms, driven out of sight of land and then thrown upon the shore 
again, drowned, slain by the savages, left in the solitary woods dead of 
starvation and despair, until finally four miserable men of all the adven- 
turous company, under the leadership of the heroic De Vaea, first lieu- 
tenant of the expedition, were rescued at the village of San Miguel, on 
the Pacific coast, and conducted to the city of INIexico. The story can 
hardly be paralleled in the annals of suifering and peril. 

But the Spaniards were not yet satisfied. In the year 1537 a new 
expedition was planned which surpassed all the others in the brii- 



64 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

liancy of its beginning and the disasters of its end. The most cavalier 
of the cayaliers was Ferdinand de Soto, of Xeres. Besides the dis- 
tinction of a noble bii^th, he had been the lieutenant and bosom friend of 
Pizarro, and had now returned from Peru loaded with wealth. So great 
was his popularity in Spain that he had only to demand what he would 
have of the emperor that his request might be granted. At his own dic- 
tation he was accordingly appointed governor of Cuba and Florida, with 
the privilege of exploring and conquering the latter country at his pleasure. 
A great company of young Spaniards, nearly all of them wealthy and 
high-born, flocked to his standard. Of these he selected six hundred of 
the most gallant and daring. They were clad in costly suits of armor 
of the knightly pattern, with airy scarfs and silken embroidery and all 
the trappings of chivalry. Elaborate preparations were made for the 
grand conquest ; arms and stores Avere provided ; shackles were wrought 
for the slaves ; tools for the forge and workshop were abundantly sup- 
plied ; bloodhounds were bought and trained for the work of hunting 
fugitives ; caids to keep the young knights excited with gaming ; twelve 
priests to conduct religious ceremonies ; and, last of all, a drove of swine 
to fatten on the maize and mast of the country. 

When, after a year of impatience and delay, everything was at last 
in readiness, the gay Castilian squadron, ten vessels in all, left the harbor 
of San Lucar to conquer imaginary empires in the New World. The fleet 
touched at Havana, and the enthusiasm was kindled even to a higher 
pitch than it had reached in Spain. De Soto left his wife to govern Cuba 
during his absence; and after a prosperous and exulting voyage of two 
weeks, the ships cast anchor in Tampa Bay. This was in the early part 
of June, 1539. When some of the Cubans who had joined the expedition 
first saw the silent forests and gloomy morasses that stretched before them, 
they were terrified at the prospect, and sailed back to the security of home ; 
but De Soto and his cavaliers despised such cowardice, and began their 
march into the interior. Dining the months of July, August and Sep- 
tember they marched to the northward, wading through swamps, swim- 
ming rivers and fighting the Indians. In October they arrived at the 
country of the Apalachians, on tha left bank of Flint River, where 
they determined to spend the winter. For four months they remained in 
this locality, sending out exploring parties in various directions. One of 
these companies reached the gulf at Pensacola, and made arrangements 
that supplies should be sent out from Cuba to that place during the fol- 
lowing summer. 

In the early spring the Spaniards left their winter quarters and con- 
tinued their march to the north and east. An Indian guide told them of 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 65 

A powerful and populous empire in that direction ; a woman was empress, 
and the land was full of gold. A Spanish soldier, one of the men of 
Narvaez, who had been kept a captive among the Indians, denied the 
truth of the extravagant story ; but De Soto only said that he would find 
gold or see poverty with his own eyes, and the freebooters pressed on 
through the swamps and woods. It was April, 1540, when they came 
upon the Ogeohee River. Here they were delayed. The Indian guide 
went mad ; and when the priests had conjured the evil spirit out of him, 
he repaid their benevolence by losing the whole company in the forest. 
By the 1st of May they had reached South Carolina, and were witliin a 
two days' march of where De Ayllon had lost his ships and men at the 
mouth of the Jordan. Thence the wanderers turned westward ; but that 
De Soto and his men crossed the mountains into North Carolina and Ten- 
nessee is hardly to be believed. They seem rather to have passed across 
Northern Georgia from the Chattahouche to the upper tributaries of the 
Coosa, and thence down that river to the valleys of Lower Alabama. 
Here, just above the confluence of the Alabama and the Tombecbee, they 
came upon the fortified Indian town called Mauville, or Mobile, where a 
terrible battle was fought with the natives. The town was set on fire, 
and two thousand five hundred of the Indians were killed or burned to 
death. Eighteen of De Soto's men were killed, and a hundred and fifty 
wounded. The Spaniards also lost about eighty horses and all of their 
baggage. 

The ships of supply had meanwhile arrived at Pensacola, but De 
Soto and his men, although in desperate circumstances, were' too stubborn 
and proud to avail themselves of help or even to send news of their wiiere- 
abouts. They turned resolutely to the north ; but the country was poor, 
and their condition grew constantly worse and worse. By the middle of 
December they had reached the country of the Chickasas, in Northern 
Mississippi. They crossed the Yazoo; the weather was severe; snow 
fell ; and the Spaniards were on the point of starvation. They succeeded, 
however, in finding some fields of ungathered maize, and then came upon 
a deserted Indian village which promised them shelter for the winter. 
After remaining here till February, 1541, they were suddenly attacked in 
the dead of night by the Indians, who, at a preconcerted signal, set the 
town on fire, determined then and there to make an end of the desolating 
foreigners ; but the Spanish weapons and discipline again saved De Soto 
and his men from destruction. 

After gathering provisions and reclothing themselves as well as pos- 
sible, the Spaniards set out again in early spring to journey still farther 
westward. The guides now brought them to the Mississippi. The point 



6Q HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

where the majestic Father of Waters was first seen by white men was at 
the lower Chickasaw Bkiif, a httle north of the thirty-fourth parallel of 
latitude; the clay of the discovery cannot certainly be known. The In- 
dians came down the river in a fleet of canoes, and offered to carry the 
Spaniards over ; but the horses could not be transported until barges were 
built for that purpose. The crossing was not effected until the latter part 
of May. 

De Soto's men now found themselves in the land of the Dakotas. 
Journeying to the north-west, they passed through a country where wild 
fruits were plentiful and subsistence easy. The natives were inoffensive 
and sujierstitious. At one place they were going to worship tlie woe- 
begone cavaliers as the children of the gods, but De Soto was too good a 
Catholic to permit such idolatry. The Spaniards continued their march 
until they reached the St. Francis River, which they crossed, and gained 
the southern limits of ISIissouri, in the vicinity of New Madrid. Thence 
Avestward the march was renewed for about two hundred miles; thence 
southward to the Hot Springs and the tributaries of the Washita River. 
On the banks of this river, at the town of Atiamque, they passed the win- 
ter of 1541—42. The Indians w^ere found to be much more civilized than 
those east of the Mississippi ; but their civilization did not protect them 
in the least from the horrid cruelties which the Spaniards practiced. No 
consideration of justice, humanity or mercy moved the stony hearts of 
these polite and Christian warriors. Indian towns were set on fire for 
sport ; Indian hands were chopped off for a whim ; and Indian captives 
burned alive because, under fear of death, they had told a falsehood. 

But De Soto's men were themselves growing desperate in their mis- 
fortunes. They turned again toward the sea, and passing down the 
tributaries of the Washita to the junction of that stream with the Red 
River, came upon the Mississijipi in the neighborhood of Natchez. The 
spirit of De Soto was at last completely broken. The haughty cavalier 
bowed his head and became a prey to melancholy. No more dazzling 
visions of Peru and Mexico flitted before his imagination. A malignant 
fever seized upon his emaciated frame, and then death. The priests 
chanted a requiem, and in the middle of the solemn night his sorrowful 
companions put the dead hero's body into a rustic coffin, and rowing out 
a distance from shore sunk it in the Mississippi. Ferdinand de Soto had 
found a grave under the rolling waters of the great river with which his 
name ^vill be associated for ever. 

Before his death, De Soto had named Moscoso as his successor ; and 
now, under the leadership of the new governor, the ragged, half-starved 
adventurers, in the vain hope of reaching Mexico, turned once more to the 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 67 

west. They crossed the country to the upj)er waters of tlie Red Eiver, on 
the confines of Texas. Thence they turned northward into the territory 
of the Pawnees and the Comanches, ranging the hunting-grounds of 
those fierce savages until stopped by the mountains. In December of 
1542, after abnost endless' wanderings and hardships, they came again 
to the Mississippi, reaching the now familiar stream a short distance above 
the mouth of Red River. They now formed the desperate resolution of 
building boats, and thus descending the river to the gulf. They erected 
a forge, broke oif the fetters of the captives in order to procure iron, sawed 
timber in the forest, and at last completed seven brigantines and launched 
them. The time thus occupied extended from Januaiy to July of 1543. 
The Indians of the neighborhood were now for the last time plundered 
in order to furnish supplies for the voyage ; and on the 2d day of July 
the Spaniards went on board their boats and started for the sea. The dis- 
tance was almost five hundred miles, and seventeen days were required to 
make the descent. On reachino; the Gulf of INIexico, thev steered to the 
south-west ; and keeping as close to the shore as possible, after fifty -five 
days of buifetings and perils along the dangerous coast, they came — three 
hundred and eleven famished and heart-broken fuiritives — to the settle- 
ment at the mouth of the River of Palms; and thus ended the most 
marvelous expedition in the early history of our country. 

The next attempt by the Spaniards to colonize Florida was in the 
year 1565. The enterprise was entrusted to Pedro IMelexdez, a Span- 
ish soldier of ferocious disposition and criminal practices. He was under 
sentence to pay a hea\'y fine at the very time when he received his com- 
mission from the bigoted Philip II. The contract between that monarch 
and jNIelendez was to the cifcct that the latter should within three years 
explore the coast of Florida, conquer the country, and plant in some 
favorable district a colony of not less than five hundred persons, of whom 
one huncbcd should be married men. INIelendez was to receive two hun- 
dred and twenty-five square miles of land adjacent to the settlement, and 
an annual salary of t^'O thousand dollars. Twenty-five hundred persons 
collected around ]Molendez to join in the expedition. The fleet left Spain 
in July, reached Porto Rico early in August, and on the 28th of the same 
month came in sight of Florida. 

It must now be understood that the real object had in view by 
INIelendez was to attack and destroy a colony of French Protestants called 
Huguenots, who, in the previous year, had made a settlement about thirty- 
five miles above the mouth of the St. John's River. This was, of course, 
■vvithin the limits of the territory claimed by Spain ; and Melendez at once 
perceived that to extirpate these French heretics in the name of patriotism 



68 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and religion would be likely to restore his shattered character and bring' 
him into favor again. His former crimes were to be washed out in the 
blood of the innocents. Moreover, the Catholic party at the French 
court had communicated with the Spanish court as to the whereabouts and 
intentions of the Huguenots, so that Melendez knew precisely M'here to 
find them and how to compass their destruction. 

It was St. Augustine's day when the dastardly Spaniard came in 
sight of the shore, but the landing was not eifected until the 2d of Sep- 
tember. The spacious harbor and the small river which enters it from 
the south were named in honor of the saint. On the 8th day of the 
same month, Philip II. was proclaimed monarch of all North America ; 
a solemn mass was said by the priests ; and there, in the sight of forest, and 
sky, and sea, the foundation-stones of the oldest town in the United States 
were put into their place. This was seventeen years before the founding 
of Santa Fe by Antonio de Espego, and forty-two years before the 
settlement at Jamestown. 

As soon as the new town was sufficiently advanced to be secure 
against accident, Melendez turned his attention to the Huguenots. The 
latter were expecting to be attacked, but had supposed that the Spanish 
fleet would sail up the St. John's, and make the onset from that direction. 
Accordingly, knowing that they must fight or die, all the French vessels 
except two left their covert in the river and put to sea, intending to an- 
ticipate the movements of the Spaniards ; but a furious storm arose and 
dashed to pieces every ship in the fleet. Most of the crews, however, 
reached the shore just above the mouth of the river. JMelendez now 
collected his forces at St. Augustine, stole through the woods and swamps, 
and falling unexpectedly on the defenceless colony, utterly destroyed 
it. IMen, women and children were alike given up to butchery. Two 
hundred were killed outright. A few escaped into the forest, Laudonniere, 
the Huguenot leader, among the number, and making their way to the 
coast, were picked up by the two French ships which had been saved 
fi:om the storm. 

The crews of the ^^Tccked vessels were the next oljject of Spanish 
vengeance. Melendez discovered their whereabouts, and deceiving them 
with treacherous promises of clemency, induced them to surrender. They 
were ferried across the river in boats ; but no sooner were they completely 
in the poAver of their enemy than their hands were bound behind them, 
and they were driven off, tied two and two, toward St. Augustine. As 
they approached the Spanish fort the signal was given by sounding a 
trumpet, and the work of slaughter began anew. Seven hundred defence- 
less victims were added to the previous atrocious massacre. Only a fcAV 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 69 

mechanics and Catholic servants were left alive. Under these bloody 
aaspices the first permanent European colony was planted in our countr}-. 
In M'hat way the Huguenots were revenged upon their enemies will be 
told in another place. 

The Spaniards had now explored the entire coast from the Isthmus 
of Darien to Port Royal in South Carolina. They were acquainted with 
the country west of the Mississippi as far north as New IMexico and 
Missouri, and east of that river they had traversed the Gulf States as far 
as the mountain ranges of Tennessee and North Carolina. "With the es- 
tablishment of their first permanent colony on the coast of Florida the 
period of Spanish voyage and discovery may be said to end. 

Before closing this chapter, a brief account of the only important 
voyage made by the Portuguese to America will be given : At the time 
of the first discovery by Columbus, the unambitious John II. was king 
of Portugal. He paid but little attention to the New World, prefer- 
ring the security and dullness of his own capital to the splendid allure- 
ments of the Atlantic. In 1495 he w^as succeeded on the throne by his 
cousin Manuel, a man of very different character. This monarch could 
hardly forgive his predecessor for having allowed Spain to snatch from the 
flag of Portugal the glory of Columbus's achievements. In order to secure 
some of the benefits which yet remained. King IManuel fitted out two ves- 
sels, and in the summer of 1501 commissioned Caspar Corteeeal to 
sail on a vovao-e of discovery. The PortuGfuese vessels reached America in 
the month of July, and beginning at some point on the shores of INIaine, 
sailed northward, exploring the coast for nearly seven hundred miles. Just 
below the fiftieth parallel of latitude Cortereal met the icebergs, and could 
go no farther. Little attention was paid by him to tlie great forests of 
pine and hemlock which stood tall and silent along the shore, promising 
ship-yards and cities in after times. He satisfied his rapacity by kid- 
napping fifty Indians, whom, on his return to Portugal, he sold as slaves. 
A new voyage was then undertaken, with the avowed purpose of capturing 
another cargo of natives for the slave-mart of Europe ; but M'hen a year 
went by, ancl no tidings arrived from the fleet, the brother of the Portuguese 
captain sailed in hope of finding the missing vessels. He also was lost, 
but in what manner has never been ascertained. The fate of the Corte- 
reals and their slave-ships has remained one of the unsolved mysteries 
of the sea. 



70 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE FRENCH IN AMERICA. 

FRANCE was not slow to profit by the discoveries of Columbus. As 
early as 1504 the fishermen of Normandy and Brittany began to ply 
their vocation on the banks of Newfoundland. A map of the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence was drawn by a Frenchman in the year 1506. Two years 
later some Indians were taken to France; and in 1518 the attention of 
Francis I. was turned to the colonization of the New World. Five years 
afterward a voyage of discovery and exploration was planned, and Johx 
A^EEEAZZANi, a native of Florence, was commissioned to conduct the 
expedition. The special object had in view was to discover a north-west 
passage to Asia. 

In the month of January, 1524, Verrazzani left the shores of Europe. 
His fleet consisted at first of four vessels ; but three of them were damaged 
in a storm, and the voyage was undertaken with a single ship, called the 
Dolphin. For fifty days, through the buflFetings of tempestuous weather, 
the courageous mariner held on his course, and on the 7th day of March 
discovered the main land in the latitude of Wilmington. He first sailed 
southward a hundred and fifty miles in the hope of finding a harbor, 
but found none. Returning northward, he finally anchored somewhere 
along the low sandy beach which stretches between the mouth of Cape 
Fear River and Pamlico Sound. Here he began a trafl&c with the natives. 
The Indians of this neighborhood were found to be a gentle and timid 
sort of creatures, unsuspicious and confiding. A half-drowned sailor who 
was washed ashore by the surf was treated with great kindness, and as soon 
as opportunity offered, permitted to return to the ship. 

After a few days the voyage was continued toward the north. The 
whole coast of New Jersey was explored, and the hills marked as con- 
taining minerals. The harbor of New York was entered, and its safe 
and spacious waters were noted with admiration. At Newport, Rhode 
Island, Yerrazzani anchored for fifteen days, and a trade Avas again opened 
M'ith the Indians. Before leaving the place the French sailors repaid the 
confidence of the natives by kidnapping a child and attempting to steal 
a defenceless Indian girl. 

Sailing from Newport, Yerrazzani continued his explorations north- 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 71 

ward. The long and broken line of the New England coast was traced 
with couriiderablo care. The Indians of the north were wary and sas- 
picious. They would buy neither ornaments nor toys, but were eager to 
purchase knives and weapons of iron. Passing to the east of Nova 
Scotia, the bold navigator reached Newfoundland in the latter part of 
]\Iay. In July he returned to France and published an account, still ex- 
tant, of his great discoveries. The name of New France was now given 
to the whole country whose sea-coast had been traced by the adventurous 
crew of the Dolphin. 

Such was the distracted condition of France at this time, that 
another expedition was not planned for a period of ten years. In 1534, 
however, Chabot, admiral of the kmgdom, selected James Cartiee, a 
seaman of St. Malo, in Brittany, to make a new voyage to America. 
Two ships were fitted out for the enterprise, and after no more than 
twenty days of sailing under cloudless skies anchored on the 10th day of 
JMay off the coast of Newfoundland. Before the middle of July, Cartier 
had circumnavigated the island to the northward, crossed the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence to the south of Anticosti, and entered the Bay of Chaleurs. 
Not finding, as he had hoped, a passage out of this bay westward, he 
changed his course to the north again, and ascended the coast as far as 
Gaspe Bay. Here, upon a point of land, he set up a cross bearing a 
shield with the lily of France, and proclaimed the French king monarch 
of the country. Pressing his way still farther northward, and then west- 
^^•ard, he entered the St. Lawrence, and ascended the broad estuary until 
the narrowing banks made him aware that he was in the mouth of a river. 
Cartier, thinking it impracticable to pass the winter in the New World, 
now turned his prows toward France, and in thirty days anchored his ships 
in the harbor of St. Malo. 

So great was the fame of Cartier's first voyage that another was 
planned immediately. Three good ships were provided, and quite a num- 
ber of young noblemen joined the expedition. Colonization rather than 
discovery was now the inspiring motive. The sails were set by zealous 
and excited crews, and on the 19th of May the new voyage was begun. 
This time there was stormy weather, yet the passage to Newfoundland 
was made by the 10th of August. It M^as the day of St. Lawrence, and 
the name of that martyr was accordingly given to the gulf, and after- 
ward to the noble stream which enters it from the Avest. Sailing north- 
ward around Anticosti, the expedition proceeded up the river to the island 
of Orleans, where the ships were moored in a place of safety. Two In- 
dians whom Cartier had taken with him to France in the previous year 
now gave information that higher up the river there was an important 



72 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

town on the island of Hochelaga. Proceeding thither in his boats, the 
French captain found it as the Indians had said. A beautiful village lay 
there at the foot of a high hill in the middle of the island. Climbing to 
the toj) of the hill, Cartier, as suggested by the scene around hira, named 
the island and town INIont-Real. The country was declared to belong by 
right of discovery to the king of France ; and then the boats dropped 
down the river to the ships. During this winter twenty-five of Cartier's 
men were swept off by the scurvy, a malady hitherto unknown in Europe. 

With the opening of spring, preparations were made to return to 
France. The terrible winter had proved too much for French enthusiasm. 
The emblem of Catholicism, bearing the arms of France, was again planted 
in the soil of the New World, and the homeward voyage began ; but be- 
fore the ships had left their anchorage, the kindly king of the Hurons, 
who had treated Cartier with so much generosity, was decoyed on board 
and carried off to die. On the 6th day of July the fleet reached St. 
Malo in safety ; but by the accounts which Cartier published on his return 
the French were greatly discouraged. Neither silver nor gold had been 
found on the banks of the St. Lawrence ; and what was a new world good 
for that had not silver and gold ? 

Francis of La Roque, lord of Roberval, in Picardy, was the next 
to undertake the colonization of the countries discovered by the French. 
This nobleman, four years after Cartier's return from his second voyage, 
w^as commissioned by the court of France to plant a colony on the St. 
Lawrence. The titles of viceroy and lieutenant-general of New France 
were conferred upon him, and much other vainglorious ceremony attended 
his preparations for departure. The man, however, who was chiefly 
relied on to give character and direction to the proposed colony was no 
other than James Cartier. He only seemed competent to conduct the 
enterprise with any promise of success. His name was accordingly added 
to the list, and he was honored with the office of chief pilot and captain- 
general of the expedition. 

The next thing to be done was to find material for the colony. This 
was a difficult task. The French peasants and mechanics were not eager 
to embark for a country ^yhich promised nothing better than savages and 
snow. Cartier's honest narrative about the resources of New France had 
left no room for further dreaming. So the work of enlisting volunteers 
went on slowly, untilthe government adopted the plan of opening the 
prisons of the kingdom and giving freedom to whoever would join the 
expedition. There was a rush of robbers, swindlers^ and murderers, and 
the lists were immediately filled. Only counterfeitei-s and traitors were 
denied the privilege of gaining their liberty in the New World. 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 73 

In the latter part of May, 1541, five ships, under the immediate 
command of Cartier, left France, and soon reached the St. Lawrence. 
The expedition proceeded up the river to the present site of Quebec, 
where a fort was erected and named Charlesbourg. Here the colonists 
passed the winter. Cartier, oifended because of the subordinate position 
Avhich he held, was sullen and gloomy, and made no effort to prosecute 
discoveries which could benefit no one but the ambitious Roberval. The 
two leaders never acted in concert ; and when La Roque, in June of the 
following year, arrived with immigrants and supplies, Cartier secretly 
sailed away with his part of the squadron, and returned to Europe. 
Roberval was left in New France with three shiploads of criminals who 
could only be restrained by Avhipping and hanging. During the autumn 
some feeble efforts were made to discover a northern passage ; the winter 
was long and severe, and spring was welcomed by the colonists chiefly 
for the opportunity which it gave them of returning to France. The 
enterprise undertaken with so much pomp had resulted in nothing. In 
the year 1549 Roberval, with a large company of emigrants, sailed on a 
second voyage, but the fleet was never heard of afterward. 

A period of fifty years now elapsed before the French authorities 
again attempted to colonize America. Meanwhile, private enterprise 
and religious persecution had co-operated in an effort to accomplish in 
Florida and Carolina what the government had failed to accomplish on 
the St. Lawrence. About the middle of the sixteenth century Coligni, 
the Protestant admiral of France, formed the design of establishing in 
America a refuge for the persecuted Huguenots of his own country. In 
1562 this liberal and influential minister obtained from the sovereign, 
Charles IX., the coveted privilege of planting a colony of Protestants 
in the New World. Johx Ribault of Dieppe, a brave and experienced 
sailor, was selected to lead the Huguenots to the land of promise. Sail- 
ing in February, the company reached the coast of Florida at a point 
where three years later St. Augustine was founded. The River St. John's, 
called by the Spaniards the St. Matthew, was entered by the French and 
named the River of May. The vessels then continued northward along 
the coast until they came to the entrance of Port Royal ; here it Avas 
determined to make the settlement. The colonists were landed on an 
island, and a stone engraved with the arms of their native land was set 
up to mark the place. A fort was erected, and in honor of Charles IX. 
named Carolina — a name which a century afterward was retained by the 
English and applied to the whole country from the Savannah River to 
the southern boundary of Virginia. In this fort Ribault left twenty-six 
men to keep possession, and then sailed back to France for additional 



74 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

emigrants and stores. But civil war was now raging in the kingdom, 
and it was quite impossible to procure either supplies or colonists. Ko 
reinforcements were sent to Carolina, and in the following spring the men 
in the fort, discouraged with long waiting, grew mutinous, and killed 
their leader for attempting to control them. Then they constructed a 
rude brig and put to sea. After they had been driven about by the 
winds for a long time, they were picked up half starved by an English 
ship and carried to the coast of France. 

Coligni did not yet despair of success in what he had undertaken. 
Two years after the first attempt another colony was planned, and Lau- 
DONNIEEE chosen leader. The character, however, of this second Prot- 
estant company was very bad. INIany of them were abandoned men, of 
little industry and no prudence. The harbor of Port Royal was now 
shunned by the Huguenots, and a point on the River St. John's about 
fifteen miles west of where St. Augustine now stands was selected for the 
settlement. A fort was built here, and things were going well until a part 
of the colonists, under the pretext of escaping from famine, contrived to get 
away with two of the ships. Instead of returning to France, as they had 
promised, they began to practice piracy in the adjacent seas, until they were 
caught, brought back and justly hanged. The rest of the settlers, im- 
provident and dissatisfied, were on the eve of breaking up the colony, 
when Ribault arrived with supplies of every sort, and restored order and 
content. It was at this time that the Spaniard Melendez, as already 
narrated, discovered the whereabouts of the Huguenots, and murdered the 
entire company. 

It remained for DoMiNic DE Goueges, a soldier of Gascony, to 
visit the Spaniards of St. Augustine with signal vengeance. This man 
fitted out three ships, mostly with his own means, and with only fifty 
daring seamen on board arrived in mid-winter on the coast of Florida. 
With this handful of soldiers he surprised successively three Spanish 
forts on the St. John's, and made prisoners of the inmates. Then, when 
he was unable to hold his position any longer, he hanged his leading 
captives to the branches of the trees, and put up this inscription to explain 
what he had done : " Not Spaniards, but murderers." 

In the year 1598 the attention of the government of France was 
once more directed to the claims which French discovery had established 
in America. The Marquis of La Roche, a nobleman of influence and 
distinction, now obtained a commission authorizing him to found an em})ire 
in the New World. The prisons of France were again opened to furnish 
the emigrants, and the colony was soon made up. Crossing the Atlantic 
by the usual route, the vessels reached the coast of Nova Scotia, and 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 75 

anchored at Sable Island. A more dismal place could not have been 
found between Labrador and Mexico ; yet here, on this desolate island, La 
Roche left forty men to form a settlement, while he himself, under the pre- 
text of procuring more men and supplies, returned to France. Shortly 
after his arrival in that country he died ; and for seven dreary years the 
new French empire, composed of forty criminals, languished on Sable 
Island. Then they were mercifully picked up by some passing ships and 
carried back to France. Their punishment had been enough, and they 
were never remanded to prison. 

But the time had now come when a colony of Frenchmen should 
actually be established in America. In the year 1603 the sovereignty of 
the country from the latitude of Philadelphia to one degree north of 
Montreal was granted to De Monts. The items of chief importance in 
the patent which he received from the king were a monopoly of the fur- 
ti'ade of the new country and religious freedom for Huguenot immigrants. 
De ]\Ionts, with two shiploads of colonists, left France early in JMarch of 
1604, and after a pleasant voyage reached the Bay of Fundy. The sum- 
mer was spent in making explorations and in trafficking with the natives. 
De INIonts seems to have been uncertain as to where he should plant his 
colony ; but while in this frame of mind, Poutrincourt, the captain of one of 
the ships, being greatly pleased with a harbor which he had discovered on 
the north-west coast of Nova Scotia, asked and obtained a grant of the same, 
together with some beautiful lands adjacent, and he and a part of the crew 
went on shore. De Monts, with the rest of the colony, crossed to the west 
side of the bay, and began to build a fort on an island at the mouth of 
the St. Croix Eiver. But in the following spring they abandoned this 
place,, and returned to the harbor which had been granted to Poutrin- 
court. Here, on the 14th day of November, 1605, the foundations of the 
first permanent French settlement in America were laid. The name of 
Port Royal was given to the harbor and the fort, and the ^^•hole country, 
including Nova Scotia, the surrounding islands and the main land as far 
south as the St. Croix River, was called Acadia. 

Two years before the settlement was made at Port Royal, Samuel 
Champlaix, one of the most eminent and soldierly men of his times, was 
commissioned by a company of Rouen merchants to explore the country of 
the St. Lawrence and establish a trading-post. The traders saw that a traffic 
in the furs which those regions so abundantly supplied was a surer road 
to riches than rambling about in search of gold and diamonds. Under 
this commission, Cham plain crossed the ocean, entered the gulf, sailed up 
the river, and with remarkable prudence and good judgment selected 
the spot on ^^'hich Quebec now stands as the site for a fort. In the 



76 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

autumn of 1603, he returned to France, and published an interesting and 
faithful account of his expedition. 

In the year 1608, Champlain again visited America, and on the 
3d of July in that year the foundations of Quebec were laid. In the 
following year he and two other Frenchmen joined a company of Huron 
and Algonquin Indians who were at war with the Iroquois of New York. 
While marching with this party of warriors, he ascended the Sorel River 
until he came to the long, narrow lake which he was the first Avhite man 
to look upon, and which has ever since borne the name of its discoverer. 

Champlain was a religious enthusiast, and on that account the 
development of his colony was for some time hindered. In 1612 the 
Protestant party came into power in France, and the great Conde, the 
protector of the Protestants, became viceroy of the French empire in 
America. Xow, for the third time, Champlain came to New France, 
and the success of the colony at Quebec was fully assured. Franciscan 
monks came over and began, to preach among the Indians. These 
friars and the Protestants quarreled a good deal, and tlie settlement 
was much disturbed. A second time Champlain went with a war- 
party against the Iroquois. His company was defeated, he himself 
wounded and obliged to remain all winter among the Hurons; but 
in the summer of 1617 he returned to the colony, in 1620 began to 
build, and four years afterward completed, the strong fortress of St. 
Louis. AVhen the heavy bastions of this castle appeared on the high 
cliff above the town and river, the permanence of the French settle- 
ments in the valley of the St. Lawrence was no longer doubtful. To 
Samuel Champlain, more than to any other man — more than to the 
French government itself — the success of the North American colo- 
nies of France must be attributed. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS. 

"IVTO day in the early history of the New World was more important 
iM tlian the 5th of :May, 1496. On that day Henry VII., king of 
England, signed the commission of John Cabot of Venice to make dis- 
coveries and explorations in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, to carry the 
English flag, and to take possession of all islands and continents which he 
might discover. Cabot was a brave, adventurous man who had been a 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 77 

sailor from his boyhood, and was now a weakliy merchant of Bristol. 
The autumn and Avinter were spent in preparations for tlie voyage; 
five substantial ships were fitted, crews were enlisted, and everything 
made ready for the opening of the spring. In April the fleet left Bris- 
tol ; and on the morning of the 24th of June, at a point about the 
middle of the eastern coast of Labrador, the gloomy shore was seen. 
This was the real discovery of tlie American continent. Fourteen 
months elapsed before Columbus reached the coast of Guiana, and more 
than two years before Ojeda and Vespucci came in sight of the main 
land of South America. 

Cabot explored the shore-line of the country which he had dis- 
covered for several hundred miles. He supposed that the land was a 
part of the dominions of the Cham of Tartary ; but finding no inhabitants, 
he went on shore, accordhig to the terms of his commission, planted the 
flag of England, and took possession in the name of the English king. 
No man forgets his native land ; by the side of the flag of his adopted 
country Cabot set up the banner of the republic of Venice — auspicious 
emblem of another flag which should one day float from sea to sea. 

As soon as he had satisfied himself of the extent and character of 
the country which he had discovered, Cabot sailed for England. On the 
homeward voyage he twice saw on the right hand the coast of Newfound- 
land, but did not stop for further discovery. After an absence of but 
little more than three months, he reached Bristol, and was greeted with 
great enthusiasm. The town had lioliday, the people were wild about 
the discoveries of their favorite admiral, and the whole kingdom took up 
the note of rejoicing. The Crown gave him money and encouragement, 
new creAvs were enlisted, new shipg fitted out, and a new commission 
more liberal in its provisions than the first was signed in February of 1498. 
Strange as it may seem, after the date of this second patent the veiy 
name of John Cabot disappears from the annals of the times. Where 
the remainder of his life was passed and the circumstances of his death 
are involved in complete mystery. 

But Sebastian, second son of John Cabot, inherited his fatlier's 
plans and reputation, and to his father's genius added a greater genius 
of his own. He had already been to the New World on that first famous 
voyage, and now, when the opportunity offered to conduct a voyage of 
his own, he threw himself into the enterprise with all the fervor of youth. 
It is probable that the very fleet which had been equipped for his father 
was entrusted to Sebastian. At any rate, the latter found himself, in the 
spring of 1498, in command of a squadron of well-manned vessels and 
on his way to the new continent. The particular object had in view was 



78 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

that common folly of the tunes, the discovery of a north-west passage to 
the Indies. 

The voyage continued prosperously until, in the ocean west of Green- 
land, the icebergs compelled Sebastian to change his course. It was July, 
and the sun scarcely set at midnight. Seals were seen and the shipa 
ploughed through such shoals of codfish as had never before been heard of. 
The shore was reached not far from the scene of the elder Cabot's discov- 
eries, and then the fleet turned southward, but whether across the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence or to the east of Newfoundland is uncertain. New 
Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine were next explored. The whole 
coast-line of New England and of the ^Middle States was no^y for the 
first time since the days of the Norsemen traced by Europeans. Nor did 
Cabot desist from this work, which was bestowing the title of discovery 
on the crown of England, until he had passed beyond the Chesapeake. 
After all the disputes about the matter, it is most probable that Cape 
Hatteras is the point from which Sebastian began his homeward voyage. 

The future career of Cabot was as strange as the voyages of his 
boyhood had been wonderful. The scheming, illiberal Henry VII., 
although quick to appreciate the value of Sebastian's discoveries, was 
slow to reward the discoverer. The Tudors were all dark-minded and 
selfish princes. When King Henry died, Ferdinand the Catholic enticed 
Cabot away from England and made him pilot-major of Spain. "While 
holdino; this hisxh office he had almost entire control of the maritime 
affairs of the kingdom, and sent out many successful voyages. He lived 
to be very old, but the circumstances of his death have not been ascer- 
tained, and his place of burial is unknown. 

The year 1498 is the most marked in the whole history of discoveiy. 
In the month of ]\Iay, Vasco de Gama of Portugal doubled the Cape 
of Good Hope and succeeded in reaching Hindostan. During the sum- 
mer the younger Cabot traced the eastern coast of North America through 
more than twenty degrees of latitude, thus establishing for ever the claim 
of England to the most valuable portion of the New World. In August, 
Columbus himself, now sailing on his third voyage, reached the mouth of 
the Orinoco. Of the three great discoveries, that of Cabot has proved to 
be by far the most important. 

But several causes impeded the career of English discovery during 
the greater part of the sixteenth century. The next year after the New 
World was found, the pope, Alexander the Sixth, drew an imaginary line 
north and south three hundred miles west of the Azores, and issued a 
papal bull giving all islands and countries west of that line to Spain. 
Henry YII. of England was himself a Catholic, and he did not care to 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 79 

begin a conflict with his Church by pressing his own claims to the newly- 
found regions of the west. ' His son and successor, Henry VIII., at first 
adopted the same policy, and it was not until after the Reformation had 
been accomplished in England that the decision of the pope came to be 
disregarded, and finally despised and laughed at. 

During the short reign of Edward YL the spirit of maritime adven- 
ture was again aroused. In 1548 the king's council voted a hundred 
pounds sterling to induce the now aged Sebastian Cabot to return from 
Spain and become grand-pilot of England, The old admiral quitted 
Seville and once more sailed under the English flag. In the reign of 
Queen Mary the power of England on the sea was not materially extended, 
but with the accession of Elizabeth a wonderful impulse was given to all 
enterprises which promised the aggrandizement of her kingdom. 

The spirit of discovery now reappeared in that bold and skillful 
sailor, Maetix Feobisher. Himself poor, Dudley, earl of Warwick, 
came to his aid, and fitted out three small vessels to sail in search of a 
north-west passage to Asia. Three-quarters of a century had not sufficed 
to destroy the fanatical notion of reaching the Indies by sailing around 
America to the north. One of Frobisher's ships was lost on the voyage,, 
another, terrified at the prospect, returned to England, but in the third the 
dauntless captain proceeded to the north and west until he attained a 
his/her latitude than had ever before been reached on the American coast. 
Above the sixtieth jiarallel he discovered the group of islands which 
lies in the mouth of Hudson's Strait. Still farther to the north he came 
upon a large island which he supposed to be the mainland of Asia ; to 
this he gave the name of Meta Incognita. North of this island, in lati- 
tude sixtv-three degrees and eischt minutes, he entered the strait Avhich 
has ever since borne the name of its discoverer, then sailed for England, 
carrying home wnth him one of the Esquimaux and a stone which was 
declared by the English refiners to contain gold. 

^ London was greatly excited. Queen Elizabeth herself added a 

vessel to the new fleet which in the month of INIay, 1577, departed for 
Meta Incognita to gather the precious metal by the shipload. Coming 
among the icebergs, the ships were for M-eeks together in constant danger 
of being crushed to atoms between the floating mountains. The summer 
was unfavorable. No ships reached as high a point as Frobisher had 
attained by himself on the previous voyage. The mariners were in con- 
sternation at the gloomy perils around them, and availed themselves of 
the first opportunity to get out of these dangerous seas and return to 
England. 

Were the English gold-hunters satisfied ? Not at all. Fifteen new 



80 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

vessels were immediately fitted out, the queen again bearing part of the 
expense, and as soon as the spring of 1578 opened the third voyage was 
begun. This time a colony amis to be planted in the gold-regions of the 
north. Three of the ships, loaded with emigrants, were to remain in the 
promised land. The other twelve were to be freighted with gold-ore and 
return to London. When they reached the entrance to Hudson's Strait, 
they encountered icebergs more terrible than ever. Through a thousand 
perils the vessels finally reached Meta Incognita and took on cargoes of 
dirt. The provision-ship now slipped away from the fleet and returned 
to England. Affairs grcAV desperate. The north-west passage was for- 
gotten. The colony Avhich was to be planted was no longer thought of. 
Faith in the shining earth which they had stored in the holds gave way, 
and so, wdth disappointed cre^vs on board and several tons of the spurious 
ore under the hatches, the ships set sail for home. The El Dorado of the 
Esquimaux had pro^'ed an utter failure. 

The English admiral. Sir Fraxcis Drake, sought fortune in a 
different manner. Without much regard for the law of nations, he began, 
in the year 1572, to prey upon the merchant-ships of Spain, and gained 
thereby enormous wealth. Five years later he sailed around to the Pacific 
coast by the route which Magellan had discovered, and became a terror to 
the Spanish vessels in those waters. When he had thus sufficiently en- 
riched himself by a process not very different from piracy, he formed the 
daring project of tracing up the western coast of North America until he 
should enter the north-west passage from the Pacific, and thence sail east- 
ward around the continent. With this object in view, he sailed northward 
along the coast as far as Oregon, when his sailors, who had been for seve- 
ral years within the tropics, began to shiver with the cold, and the enter- 
prise, which could have resulted in nothing but disaster, was given up. 
Returning to the south, Drake passed the winter of 1579-80 in a harbor 
on the coast of Mexico. To all that portion of IKe western shores of 
America which he had thus explored he gave the name of New Albion ; 
but the earlier discovery of the same coast by the Spaniards rendered the 
English claim of but little value. No colony of Englishmen had yet 
been established in the New World. 

Sir Hu:mphrey Gilbert was perhaps the first to conceive a rational 
plan of colonization in America. His idea was to form somewhere on the 
shores of the New Continent an agricultural and commercial state. With 
this purpose he sought aid from the queen, and received a liberal j^atent 
authorizing him to take possession of any six hundred square miles of 
unoccupied territory in America, and to plant thereon a colony of which 
he liimself* should be proprietor and governor. With this commission, 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 81 

Gilbert, assisted by his illustrious step-brother, Walter Ealeigh, pre- 
pared a fleet of five vessels, and in June of 1583 sailed for the west. 
Only two days after their departure the best vessel in the fleet treacher- 
ously abandoned the rest and returned to Plymouth. Early in xVugust^ 
Gilbert reached Newfoundland, and going ashore, took formal possession 
of the country in the name of his queen. Unfortunately, some of the 
sailors discovered in the side of a hill scales of mica, and a judge of 
metals, whom Gilbert had been foolish enough to bring Avith him, de- 
clared that the flittering mineral was silver ore. The crews became in- 
subordinate. Some went to digging the supposed silver and carrying it 
on board the vessels, while others gratified their piratical propensities by 
attacking the Spanish and Portuguese ships that were fishing in the 
neighboring harbors. 

Meanwhile, one of Gilbert's vessels became worthless, and had to be 
abandoned. With the other three he left Newfoundland, and steered 
toward the south. When off* the coast of Massachusetts, the largest of 
the remaining ships was wrecked, and a hundred men, with all the spuri- 
ous silver ore, went to the bottom. The disaster was so great that Gill^rt 
determined to return at once to England. The weather was stormy, and 
the two ships that were now left were utterly unfit for the sea ; but the 
voyage was begun in hope. The brave captain remained in the weaker 
vessel, a little frigate called the Squirrel, already shattered and ready to 
sink. At midnight, as the ships, within hailing distance of each other, 
were struggling through a raging sea, the Squirrel was suddenly en- 
gulfed ; not a man of the courageous crew was saved. The other ship 
finally reached Falmouth in safety. 

But the project of colonization was immediately renewed by Raleigh. 
In the following spring that remarkable man obtained from the queen a 
new patent fully as liberal as the one granted to Gilbert. Raleigh was to 
become lord-proprietor of an extensive tract of country in America ex- 
tending from the thirty-third to the fortieth parallel of north latitude. 
This territory was to be peopled and organized into a state. The frozen 
regions of the north were now to be avoided, and the sunny country of 
the Huguenots was to be chosen as the seat of the rising empire. Two 
ships were fitted out, and the command given to Philip Amidas and 
Arthur Barlow. 

In the month of July the vessels reached the coast of Carolina. 
The sea that laved the long, low beach was smooth and glassy. The 
woods were full of beauty and song. The natives were generous and 
hospitable. Explorations were made along the shores of Albemarle and 
Pamlico Sounds, and a landing finally effected on Roanoke Island, where 



82 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the English were entertained by the Indian queen. But neither Aniidas 
Dor Barlow had the courage or genius necessary to such an enterprise. 
After a stay of less than two months they returned to England to exhaust 
the rhetoric of description in praising the beauties of the new land. In 
allusion to her own life and reign, Elizabeth gave to her delightful 
country in the New World the name of Vikgixia. 

In December of 1584, Sir Walter brought forward a bill in Par- 
liament by which his previous patent was confirmed and enlarged. The 
mind of the whole nation was inflamed at the prospects which Raleigh's 
province now offered to emigrants and adventurers. The plan of coloni- 
zation, so far from being abandoned, was undertaken with renewed zeal and 
earnestness. The proprietor fitted out a second expedition, and appointed 
the soldierly Ralph Lane governor of the colony. Sir Richard Gren- 
ville commanded the fleet, and a company, not unmixed with the gallant 
young nobility of the kingdom, made up the crew. Sailing from Ply- 
mouth, the fleet of seven vessels reached the American coast on the 20th 
of June. At Cape Fear they were in imminent danger of being wrecked ; 
but having escaped the peril, they six days afterward reached Roanoke in 
safety. ' Here Lane was left with a hundred and ten of the emigrants to 
form a settlement. Grenville, after making a few unsatisfactory explora- 
tions, returned to England, taking ^^•itl^ him a Spanish treasure-ship which 
he had captured. Privateering and colonization went hand in hand. 

Meanwhile, some Indians of a village adjacent to Roanoke had 
committed a petty theft, and the English wantonly burned the whole 
town as a measure of revenge. Jealousy and suspicion took the place of 
former friendships. Lane and some of his companions were enticed with 
false stories to go on a gold-hunting expedition into the interior ; their 
destruction was planned, and only avoided by a hasty retreat to Roanoke. 
Wingina, the Indian king, and several of his chiefs were now in turn 
allured into the power of the English and inhumanly murdered. Hatred 
and gloom followed this atrocity, then despondency and a sense of danger, 
until the discouragement became so great that when Sir Francis Drake, 
returning with a fleet from his exploits on the Pacific coast, came in sight, 
the colonists prevailed on him to carry them back to England. 

It was a needless and hasty abandonment, for A^'ithin a few days a 
shipload of stores arrived from the prudent Raleigh; but finding no colony, 
the vessel could do nothing but return. Two weeks later Sir Richard 
Grenville himself came back to Roanoke with three well-laden ships, and 
made a fruitless search for the colonists. Not to lose possession of the 
country altogether, he left fifteen men upon the island, and set sail for 
home. 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 83 

The ardor of the English people was now somewhat cooled. Yet 
they had before them truthful descriptions of the beauty and mag- 
nificence of the new country, and another colony, consisting largely of 
families, was easily made up. A charter of municipal government was 
granted by the proprietor, John White was chosen governor, and every 
precaution taken to secure the permanent success of the City of Raleigh, 
soon to be founded in the west. In July the emigrants arrived in Caro- 
lina. Avoiding the dangerous capes of Hatteras and Fear, they came 
safely to Roanoke ; but a search for the fifteen men who had been left 
there a year before only revealed the fact that the natives, now grown 
savage, had murdered them. Nevertheless, the northern extremity of 
the ill-omened island was chosen as the site for the city, and on the 23d 
of the month the foundations were laid. 

But disaster attended the enterprise. Jealousy between the settlers 
and the Indians grew into hostility, and hostility into war. Then a peace 
was concluded, and Sir "Walter gave countenance to an absurd perform- 
ance by which Manteo, one of the Indian chiefs, was made a peer of 
England, with the title of Lord of Roanoke. It was a silly an^ stupid 
piece of business. Notwithstanding the presence of this copper-colored 
nobleman, the colonists were apjirehensive and gloomy. They pretended 
to fear starvation, and in the latter part of August almost compelled 
Governor White to return to England for an additional cargo of supplies. 
It was a great mistake. If White had remained, and the settlers had 
given themselves to tilling the soil and building houses, no further help 
would have been needed. The 18th of August was marked as the birth- 
day of Virginia Dare, the first-born of English children in the New 
World. When White set sail for England, he left behind him a colony 
of a hundred and eight persons. What their fate was has never been 
ascertained. The story of their going ashore and joining the Indians is 
unlikely in itself, and has no historical evidence to support it. 

The Invincible Armada Avas now bearing down upon the coasts of 
England. All the resources and energies of the kingdom were demanded 
for defence; and although Raleigh managed to send out two supply- 
ships to succor his starving colony, his efforts to reach them were unavail- 
ing. The vessels which he sent with stores went cruising after Spanish 
merchantmen, and were themselves run down and captured by a man-of- 
war. Not until the spring of 1590 did the governor finally return to 
search for the unfortunate colonists. The island was a desert, tenantless 
and silent. No soul remained to tell the story of the lost. 

In the mean time, Sir Walter, after spending two hundred thou- 
sand dollars of his own means in the attempt to found and foster a colony, 



84 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

had given up the enterprise. He assigned his exckisive projirietary rights 
to an association of London merchants, and it was under their auspices 
that White had made the final search for the settlers of Roanoke. From 
the date of this event very little in the way of voyage and discoveiy was 
accomplished by the English until the year 1602, when maritime enter- 
j)rise again brought the flag of England to the shores of America. Bar- 
tholomew Gos>;oLD was the man to whom belongs the honor of mak- 
ing the next explorations of our coast. 

The old route from the shores of Europe to America was very cir- 
cuitous. Ships from the ports of England, France and Spain sailed first 
southward to the Canary Islands, thence to the AVest Indies, and thence 
northward to the coast-line of the continent. Abandoning this path as 
unnecessarily long and out of the way, Gosnold, in a single small vessel 
called the Concord, sailed directly across the Atlantic, and in seven weeks 
reached the coast of Maine. The distance thus gained was fully two 
thousand miles. It was Gosnold's object to found a colony, and for 
that purpose a company of emigrants came with him. Beginning at 
Cape Elizabeth, explorations were made to the southward ; Cape Cod 
was reached, and here the captain, with four of his men, w^ent on shore. 
It was the first landing of Englishmen M-ithin the limits of New Eng- 
land. Cape Malabar was doubled, and then the vessel, leaving Nantucket 
on the right, turned into Buzzard's Bay. Selecting the most westerly 
island of the Elizabeth group, the colonists went on shore, and there be- 
gan the first New England settlement. 

It was a short-lived enterprise. A traffic was opened with th^ 
natives which resulted in loading the Concord with sassafras root, so much 
esteemed for its fragrance and healing virtues. Everything went well for 
a season ; but when the ship was about to depart for England, the settlers 
became alarmed at the prospect before them, and pleaded for permission to 
return with their friends. Gosnold acceded to their demands, and the 
island was abandoned. After a pleasant voyage of five weeks, and in 
less than four months from the time of starting, the Concord reached 
home in safety. 

Gosnold and his companions gave glowing accounts of the country 
w^hich they had visited, and it was not long until another English expe- 
dition to America was planned. Two vessels, the Speedwell and the 
Discoverer, composed the fleet, with Maktin Bring for commander. A 
cargo of merchandise suited to the tastes of the Indians was put into 
the holds; and in April of 1603, a few days after the death of Queen 
Elizabeth, the vessels sailed for America. They came safely to Penobscot 
Bay, and afterward spent some time in exploring the harbors and shores 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 85 

of JNIaine. Then, turning to the south and coasting Massachusetts, Pring 
reached the sassafras region, and loaded his vessels at Martha's Vineyard. 
Thence he returned to England, reaching Bristol in October, after an 
absence of six months. 

Two years later, George Waymouth, under the patronage of the 
earl of Southampton, made a voyage to America, and passing Cape Cod 
on the left, came to anchorage among the islands of St. George, on the 
coast of Maine. He explored the harbor, and sailed up the river for a 
considerable -distance, taking note of the fine forests of fir and of the 
beautiful scenery along the banks. A profitable trade was opened with 
the Indians, some of whom learned to speak English and returned with 
Waymouth to England. The voyage homeward was safely made, the 
vessels reaching Plymouth about the middle of June. This was the last 
of the voyages made by the English preparatory to the actual establish- 
ment of a colony in America. The time had at last arrived when, in the 
beautiful country of .the Cliesapeake, a permanent settlement should be 
effected. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ENGLISH DISCOVERIES AND SETTLEMENTS— CONTINUED. 

THE 10th of April, 1606, was full of fate in the destinies of the west- 
ern continent. On that day King James I. issued two great patents 
directed to men of his kingdom, authorizing them to possess and colo- 
nize all that portion of North America lying between the thirty-fourth 
and forty-fifth parallels of latitude. The immense tract thus embraced 
extended from the mouth of Cape Fear River to Passamaquoddy Bay, 
and westward to tlie Pacific Ocean. The first patent was granted to an 
association of nobles, gentlemen and merchants residing at London, and 
called the London Company, while the second instrument was issued 
to a similar body which had been organized at Plymouth, in South-west- 
ern England, and which bore t\\Q name of the Plymouth Company. 
To the former corporation was assigned all the region between the thirty- 
fourth and the thirty-eighth degrees of latitude, and to the latter the tract 
extending from the forty-first to the forty-fifth degree. The narrow belt 
of three degrees lying between the thirty-eighth and forty-first parallels 
was to be equally open to the colonies of either company, but no settle- 



86 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ment of one party was to be made within less than one hundred miles 
of the nearest settlement of tlie other. The nature and extent of these 
grants will be fully understood from an examination of the accompany- 
ing map. Only the London Comijany was successful under its charter 
in f)lanting an American colony. 

The man who was chiefly instrumental in organizing the London 
Company was Bartholomew Gosnold. His leading associates were Edward 
Wingfield, a rich merchant, Robert Hunt, a clergyman, and John Smitli, 
a man of genius. Others who aided the enterprise were Sir John Pop- 
ham, chief-justice of England, Richard Hakluyt, a historian, and Sir 
Ferdinand Gorges, a distinguished nobleman. By the terms of the char- 
ter, the affairs of the company were to be administered by a Superior 
Council, residing in England, and an Inferior Council, residing in the 
colony. The members of the former body were to be chosen by the king, 
and to hold office at his pleasure ; the members of the lower council were 
also selected by the royal direction, and were subject to removal by the 
same j)ower. All legislative authority was likewise vested in the mon- 
arch. In the first organization of the companies not a single principle 
of self-government was admitted. The most foolish clause in the patent 
was that which required the proposed colony or colonies to hold all prop- 
erty in common for a j^eriod of five years. The wisest provision in the 
instrument was that which allowed the emigrants to retain in the New 
World all the rights and privileges of Englishmen. 

In the month of xiugust, 1606, the Plymouth Company sent their 
first ship to America. The voyage, which was one of exploration, 
was but half completed, when the company's vessel was captured by a 
Spanish man-of-^^■ar. In the autumn another ship was sent out, which 
remained on the American coast until the follo\ving spring, and then 
returned with glowing accounts of the country. Encouraged by these 
reports, the company, in the summer of 1607, despatched a colony of a 
hundred persons. Arriving at the mouth of the River Kennebec, the 
colonists began a settlement under favorable circumstances. Some forti- 
fications were thrown up, a storehouse and several cabins built, and the 
place named St. George. Then the ships returned to England, leaving 
a promising colony of forty-five members; but the winter of 1607-8 
was very severe ; some of the settlers were starved and some frozen, the 
storehouse burned, and when summer came the remnant escaped to 
England. 

The London Company had better fortune. A fleet of tliree vessels 
was fitted out, and the command given to Christopher Newport. On the 
9th of December the ships, having on board a hundred and five colonists^ 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 87 

among whom were Wingfield and Smith, left England. Newport, to 
begin with, committed the astonishing folly of taking the old route by 
war of the Canaries and the West Indies, and did not reach the American 
coast until the month of April, It was the design that a landing should 
be made in the neighborhood of Roanoke Island, but a storm prevailed 
and carried the ships northward into the Chesapeake. Entering the 
magnificent bay and coasting along the southern shore, the vessels came 
to the mouth of a broad and beautiful river, which was named in honor 
of King James. Proceeding up this stream about fifty miles, Newport 
noticed on tlie northern bank a peninsula more attractive than the rest 
for its verdure and beauty ; the ships were moored, and the emigrants 
Avent on shore. Here, on the 13tli day of May (Old Style), in the year 
1607, were laid the foundations of Jamestown, the oldest English settle- 
ment in America. It was within a month of a hundred and ten years 
after the discovery of the continent by the elder Cabot, and nearly forty- 
two years after the founding of St. Augustine. So long a time had been 
required to plant the first feeble germ of English civilization in the New 
World. 

After the unsuccessful attempt to form a settlement at the mouth 
of the Kennebec, very little was done by the Plymouth Company for 
several years ; yet the purpose of planting colonies was not relinquished. 
Meanwhile, a new impetus was given to the affairs of North Virginia by 
the ceaseless activity and exhaustless energies of John Smith. Wounded 
by an accident, and discouraged, as fiir as it was possible for such a man 
to be discouraged, by the distractions and turl^ulence of the Jamestown 
colony, Smith left that settlement in 1609, and returned to England. On 
recovering his health he formed a partnership with four wealthy mer- 
chants of London, with a view to the fur-trade and probable establish- 
ment of colonies within the limits of the Plymouth grant. Two ships 
were accordingly freighted with goods and put under Smith's command. 
The summer of 1614 w\as spent on the coast of lower Maine, where a 
profitable traffic was carried on with the Indians. The crews of the ves- 
sels were well satisfied through the long days of July with the plea- 
sures and profits of the teeming fisheries, but Smith himself found nobler 
work. Beginning as far north as practicable, he patiently explored the 
country, and drew a map of the whole coast-line from the Penobscot 
Kiver to Cape Cod. In this map, which is still extant, and a marvel of 
accuracy considering the circumstances under which it was made, the 
country was called New England — a name which Prince Charles con- 
firmed, and which has ever since remained as the designation of the North- 
eastern States of the republic. In the month of November the ships re- 



88 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

turned to Plymouth, taking with them many substantial proofs of a suc- 
cessful voyage. 

Smith now pleaded more strongly than ever in behalf of coloniza- 
tion. Some of his friends in the Plymouth Company gave him aid, and 
in 1615 a small colony of sixteen persons was sent out in a single ship. 
When nearing the American coast, they encountered a terrible storm, and 
after being driven about for two or three weeks were obliged to return to 
England. In spite of these reverses, the undaunted leader renewed the 
enterprise, and again raised a company of emigrants. Part of his crew 
became mutinous, betrayed him, and left him in mid-ocean. His own 
ship was run down and captured by a band of French pirates, and him- 
self imprisoned in the harbor of Rochelle. Later in the same year he 
escaped in an open boat and made his way back to London. With as- 
tonishing industry, he now published a description of New England, 
and was more zealous than ever in inciting the company of Plymouth to 
energetic action. In these efforts he was much impeded. The London 
Company was jealous of its rival, and put obstacles in the way of every 
enterprise. The whole of the years 1617-18 was spent in making and 
unmaking plans of colonization, until finally, on the petition of some of 
its own leading members, the Plymouth Company was formally super- 
seded by a new corporation called the Council of Plymouth, consisting 
of forty of the most wealthy and influential men of the kingdom. On 
this body were conferred, by the terms of the new charter, almost un- 
limited powers and privileges. All that part of America lying between 
the fortieth and the forty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and extending 
from ocean to ocean, was given to the council in fee simple. More than a 
million of square miles were embraced in the grant, and absolute jurisdic- 
tion over this immense tract was committed to forty men. How King 
James was ever induced to sign such a charter has remained an unsolved 
mystery. 

A plan of colonizing w^as now projected on a grand scale. John 
Smith was appointed admiral of New England for life. The king, not- 
withstanding the opposition of the House of Commons, issued a procla- 
mation enforcing the provisions of the charter, and everything gave 
promise of the early settlement of America. Such were the schemes of 
men to possess and people the Western Continent. Meanwhile, a Power 
higher than the will of man was working in the same direction. The 
time had come when, without the knowledge or consent of James I., 
without the knowledge or consent of the Council of Plymouth, a per- 
manent settlement should be made on the bleak shores of New England. 

The PuEiTANS ! Name of all names in the early history of the 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 89 

West ! About the close of the sixteenth century a number of poor dis- 
senters scattered through the North of England, especially in the counties 
of Nottingham, Lincoln and York, began to join themselves together for 
the purposes of free religious worship. Politically, they were patriotic 
subjects of the English king; religiously, they were rebels against the 
authority of the English Church. Their rebellion, however, only ex- 
tended to the declaration that every man has a right to discover and ap- 
ply the truth as revealed in the Scriptures without the interposition of 
any power other than his own reason and conscience. Such a doctrine was 
very repugnant to the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth herself 
declared such teaching to be subversive of the principles on which her 
monarchy was founded. King James was not more tolerant ; and from 
time to time violent persecutions broke out against the feeble and dis- 
persed Christians of the north. 

Despairing of rest in their own country, the Puritans finallv deter- 
mined to go into exile, and to seek in another land the freedom of wor- 
ship which their own had denied them. They turned their faces toward 
Holland, made one unsuccessful attempt to get away, were brought back 
and thrown into prisons. Again they gathered together on a bleak heath 
in Lincolnshire, and in the spring of 1608 embarked from the mouth of 
the Humber. Their shij) brought them in safety to Amsterdam, where, 
under the care of their heroic pastor, John Robinson, they passed one 
Avintcr, and then removed to Leyden. Such was the beginning of their 
wandering. They took the name of Pilgrims, and grew content to have 
no home or resting-place. Privation and exile could be endured when 
sweetened with liberty. 

But the love of native land is a universal passion. The Puritans 
in Holland did not forget — could not forget — that they were Englishmen. 
During their ten years of residence at Leyden they did not cease to long 
for a return to the country which had cast them out. Though ruled by 
a heartless monarch and a bigoted priesthood, England was their country 
still. The unfamiliar language of the Dutch grated harshly on their ears. 
They pined with unrest, conscious of their ability and willingness to do 
something which should convince even King James of their patriotism 
and worth. 

It was in this condition of mind that about the year 1617 the 
Puritans began to meditate a removal to the wilds of the New AVorld. 
There, with honest purpose and prudent zeal, they would extend the 
dominions of the English king. They Mould forget the past, and be at 
peace with their country. Accordingly, John Carver and Robert Cush- 
man were despatched to England to ask permission for the church of 



90 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Leyden to settle in America. The agents of the London Company 
and the Council of Plymouth gave some encouragement to the request, 
but the king and his ministers, especially Lord Bacon, set their faces 
against any project which might seem to favor heretics. The most that 
King James would do was to make an informal promise to let the Pil- 
grims alone in America. Such has always been the despicable attitude 
of bigotry toward every liberal enterprise. 

The Puritans were not discouraged. With or without permission, 
protected or not protected by the terms of a charter which might at best 
be violated, they would seek asylum and rest in the Western wilderness. 
Out of their own resources, and with the help of a few faithful friends, 
they provided the scanty means of dej)arture and set their faces toward 
the sea. The Speedwell, a small vessel of sixty tons, was purchased at 
Amsterdam, and the JNIayflower, a larger and more substantial ship, was 
hired for the voyage. The former was to carry the emigrants from Ley- 
den to Southamj^ton, where they were to be joined by the ^layflower, with 
another company from London. Assembling at the harbor of Delft, on 
the Eiver Meuse, fifteen miles south of Leyden, as many of the Pilgrims 
as could be accommodated Avent on board the Speedwell. The whole con- 
gregation accompanied them to the shore. There Robinson gave them a 
consoling farewell address, and the blessings and prayers of those who 
were left behind followed the vessel out of sight. 

Both ships came safely to Southampton, and within two weeks the 
emigrants were ready for tlie voyage. On the 5th of August, 1620, the 
vessels left the harbor ; but after a few days' sailing the Speedwell was 
found to be shattered, old and leaky. On this account both ships an- 
chored in the port of Dartmouth, and eight days were spent in making 
the needed repairs. Again the sails were set ; but scarcely had the land 
receded from sight before the captain of the Speedwell declared his vessel 
unfit to breast the ocean, and then, to the great grief and discouragement 
of the emigrants, put back to Plymouth. Here the bad ship was aban- 
doned ; but the Pilgrims were encouraged and feasted by the citizens, and 
the more zealous went on board the Mayflower, ready and anxious for a 
final effort. On the 6th day of September the first colony of New Eng- 
land, numbering one hundred and two souls, saw the shores of Old 
England grow dim and sink behind the sea. 

The voyage was long and perilous. For sixty-three days the ship 
was buffeted by storms and driven. It had been the intention of the 
Pilgrims to found their colony in the beautiful country of the Hudson ; 
but the tempest carried them out of their course, and the first land seen 
Avas the desolate Cape Cod. On the 9th of November the vessel was 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY ' 91 

anchored in the bay ; then a meeting was held on board and the colony 
organized under a solemn compact. In the charter which they there 
made for themselves the emigrants declared their loyalty to the English 
Crown, and covenanted together to live in peace and harmony, with equal 
rights to all, obedient to just laws made for the common good. Such was 
the simple but sublime constitution of the oldest New England State. A 
nobler document is not to be found among the records of the world.* To 
this instrument all the heads of families, forty-one in number, solemnly 
set their names. An election was held in which all had an equal voice, 
and John Carver was unanimously chosen governor of the colony. 

After two days the boat was lowered, but was found to be half 
rotten and useless. More than a fortnight of precious time was required 
to make the needed repairs. Standish, Bradford and a few other hardy 
spirits got to shore and explored the country ; nothing was found but a 
heap of Indian corn under the snow. By the 6th of December the boat 
was ready for service, and the governor, with fifteen companions, went 
ashore. The weather was dreadful. Alternate rains and snow-storms 
converted the clothes of the Pilgrims into coats-of-mail. All day they 
wandered about, and then returned to the sea-shore. In the morning 
they were attacked by the Indians, but escaped to the ship with their 
lives, cheerful and giving thanks. Then the vessel was steered to the 
south and west for forty-five miles around the coast of what is now the 
county of Barnstable. At nightfall of Saturday a storm came on ; the 
rudder was wrenched away, and the poor ship driven, half by accident 
and half by the skill of the pilot, into a safe haven on the west side 
of the bay. The next day, being the Sabbath, was spent in religious 
devotions, and on Monday, the 11th of December, Old Style, 1620, the 
Pilgrim Fathers landed on the Rock of Plymouth. 

It was now the dead of winter. There was an incessant storm of 
sleet and snow, and the houseless immigrants, already enfeebled by their 
sufferings, fell a-dying of hunger, cold and exposure. After a few days 
spent in explorations about the coast, a site was selected near the first 
landing, some trees were felled, the snow-drifts cleared away, and on the 
9th of January the heroic toilers began to build New Plymouth. Every 
man took on himself the work of making his ovm house ; but the rav- 
ages of disease grew daily worse, strong arms fell powerless, lung-fevers 
and consumptions wasted every family. At one time only seven men 
were able to work on the sheds which were building for shelter from the 
storms ; and if an early spring had not brought relief, the colony must 
have perished to a man. Such were the privations and griefs of that 
terrible winter when New England began to be. 

* See Appendix, note B. 



92 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

VOYAGES AND SETTLEMENTS OF THE DUTCH. 

THE first Dutch settlement in America was made on INIanliattan or 
New Yorlv Island. The colony resulted from the voyages and 
explorations of the illustrious Sir Henry Hudson. In the year 1607 
this great British seaman was employed by a company of London mer- 
chants to sail into the North Atlantic and discover a route eastward or 
westward to the Indies. He made the voyage in a single ship, passed up 
the eastern coast of Greenland to a higher point of latitude than ever 
before attained, turned eastward to Spitzbergen, circumnavigated that 
island, and then Avas compelled by the icebergs to return to England. In 
the next year he renewed his efforts, hoping to find between Spitzbergen 
and Nova Zembla an open way to the East. By this course he confi- 
dently expected to shorten the route to China by at least eight thousand 
miles. Again the voyage resulted in failure ; his employers gave up the 
enterprise in despair, but his own spirits only rose to a higher determi- 
nation. When the cautious merchants would furnish no more means, he 
quitted England and went to Amsterdam. Holland was at this time the 
foremost maritime nation of the Avorld, and the eminent navigator did not 
long go begging for patronage in the busy marts of that country. The 
Dutch East India Company at once furnished him with a ship, a small 
yacht called the Half JSIoon, and in April of 1609 he set out on his 
third voyage to reach the Indies. About the seventy-second parallel of 
latitude, above the capes of Norway, he turned eastward, but between 
Lapland and Nova Zembla the ocean was filled with icebergs, and further 
sailing was impossible. Baffled but not discouraged, he immediately 
turned his prow toward the shores of America ; somewhere between the 
Chesapeake and the North Pole he would find a passage into the Pacific 
ocean. 

In the month of July Hudson reached Newfoundland, and passing 
to the coast of ISIaine, spent some time in repairing his ship, which had 
been shattered in a storm. Sailing thence southward, he touched at Cape 
Cod, and by the middle of August found himself as far south as the 
Chesapeake. Again he turned to the north, determined to examine the 
coast more closely, and on the 28th of the month anchored in Delaware 



VOYAGE AND DISCOVERY. 93 

Bay. After one day's explorations the voyage was continued along the 
coast of New Jersey, until, on the 3d of September, the Half ]\Ioon came 
to a safe anchorage in the bay of Sandy Hook. Two days later a land- 
ing was effected, the natives flocking in great numbers to the scene, and 
bringing gifts of corn, wild fruits and oysters. The time until the 9tli 
of the month was spent in sounding the great harbor; on the next day 
the vessel passed the Narrows, and then entered the noble river which 
bears the name of Hudson. 

To explore the beautiful stream was now the j^leasing task. For 
eight days the Half Moon sailed northward up the river. Such mag- 
nificent forests, such beautiful hills, such irtountains rising in the distance, 
such fertile valleys, planted here and there with ripening corn, the Xeth- 
erlanders had never seen before. On the 19th of September the vessel 
was moored at what is now the landing of Kinderliook; but an exploring 
party, still unsatisfied, took to the boats and rowed up the river beyond 
the site of Albany. After some days they returned to the ship, the moor- 
ings were loosed, the vessel dropped down the stream, and on the 4th of 
October the sails were spread for Holland. On the homeward voyage 
Hudson, not perhaps without* a touch of national pride, put into the har- 
bor of Dartmouth. Thereupon the government of King James, with 
characteristic illiberality, detained the Half Moon, and claimed the crew 
as Englishmen. All that Hudson could do was to forward to his employ- 
ers of the East India Company an account of his successful voyage and 
of the delightfid country which he had visited under the flag of Holland. 

Now were the English merchants ready to spend more money to 
find the north-west passage. In the summer of 1610, a ship, called the 
Discovery, was given to Hudson ; and with a vision of the Indies flitting 
before his imagination he left Eno;land, never to return. He had learned 
by this time that nowhere between Florida and INIaine was there an open- 
ing through the continent to the Pacific. The famous pass must now be 
sought between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the southern point of 
Greenland. Steering between Cape Farewell and Labrador, in the track 
which Frobisher had taken, the vessel came, on the 2d day of August, 
into the mouth of the strait which bears the name of its discoverer. No 
ship had ever before entered these waters. For a while the way west- 
ward was barred with islands ; but passing between them, the bay seemed 
to open, the ocean widened to the right and left, and the route to China- 
was at last revealed. So believed the great captain and his crew ; but 
sailing farther to the west, the inhospitable shores narrowed on the more 
inhospitable sea, and Hudson found himself environed with the terrors 
of winter in the frozen gulf of the North. With unfaltering courage he 



94 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

bore up until liis provisions were almost exhausted; spring was at hand, 
and the day of escape had already arrived, when the treacherous crew 
broke out in mutiny. They seized Hudson and his only son, with seven 
other faithful sailors, threw them into an open shallop, and cast them oif 
among the icebergs. The fate of the illustrious mariner has never been 
ascertained. 

In the summer of IGIO the Half Moon was liberated at Dartmouth, 
and returned to Amsterdam. In the same year several ships owned by 
Dutch merchants sailed to the banks of the Hudson River and engaged 
in the fur-trade. The traffic was very lucrative, and in the two following 
years other vessels made frequent and profitable voyages. Early in 1614 
an act was jiassed by the States-General of Holland giving to certain 
merchants of Amsterdam the exclusive right to trade and establish settle- 
ments within the limits of the country exj)lored by Hudson. Under this 
commission a fleet of five small trading-vessels arrived in the summer of 
the same year at INIanhattan Island. Here some rude huts had already 
been built by former traders, but now a fort for the defence of the place 
was erected, and the settlement named New Amsterdam. In the course 
of the autumn Adrian Block, who commanded one of the ships, sailed 
through East River into Long Island Sound, made explorations along the 
coast as far as the mouth of the Connecticut, thence to Narraganset Bay, 
and even to Cape Cod. Almost at the same time Christianson, another 
Dutch connnauder, in the same fleet, sailed up the river from INIanhattan 
to Castle Island, a short distance below the site of Albany, and erected a 
block-house, which was named Fort Nassau, for a long time the northern 
outpost of the settlers on the Hudson. ]\Ieanwliile, Cornelius May, the 
captain of a small vessel called the Fortune, sailed from New Amsterdam 
and explored the Jersey coast as far south as the Bay of Delaware. Upon 
these two voyages, one north and the other south from Manhattan Island 
where the actual settlement was made, Holland set up a feeble claim to 
the country which was now named New Netherlands, extending from 
Cape Henlopen to Cape Cod — a claim which Great Britain and France 
treated with derision and contempt. Such M^ere the feeble and inaus- 
picious beginnings of the Dutch colonies in New York and Jersey. 



PART III. 

colojstial history. 

A. 1>. 1««7— 1775. 



PARENT COLONIES. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VIRGINIA.— THE FIRST CHARTER. 

MANY circumstances impeded the progress of the oldest Virginia 
colony. The first settlers at Jamestown were idle, improvident, 
dissolute. Of the one hundred and five men who came with Newport 
in the spring of 1607, only twelve were common laborers. There were 
four carpenters in the company, and six or eight masons and blacksmiths, 
but the lack of mechanics was compensated by a long list of forty-eight 
gentlemen. If necessity had not soon driven these to the honorable 
vocations of toil, the colony nuist have perished. The few married men 
Avho joined the expedition had left their families in England. The pros- 
pect of planting an American State on the banks of James River was 
not at all encouraging. 

From the first the affairs of the colony were badly managed. King 
James made out instructions for the organization of the new State, and 
then, with his usual stupidity, sealed up the parchment in a box which 
was not to be opened until the arrival of the emigrants in America. The 
names of the governor and members of the council were thus unknown 
during the voyage; there was no legitimate authority on shipboard; 
insubordination and anarchy prevailed among the riotous company. In 
this state of turbulence and misrule, an absurd suspicion was blown out 
against Captain John Smith, the best and truest man in the colony. He 
was accused of making a plot to murder the council, of which he was 
supposed to be a member, and to make himself monarch of Virginia. 
An arrest followed, and confinement until the end of the voyage. When 
at last the colonists reached the site of their future settlement, the king's 
instructions were unsealed and the names of the seven members of the 

. 95 



96 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



^s% 



Inferior Council made kno-wn. Then a meeting of that body was held 
and Edward Wingfield duly elected first governor of Virginia. Smith, 
who had been set at liberty, was now charged with sedition and excluded 
from his seat in the council. He demanded to be tried ; and when it was 
found that his jealous enemies could bring nothing but their ovra suspi- 
cions against him, he was acquitted, and finally, through the good offices 
of Robert Hunt, restored to his place as a member of the corporation. 
As soon as the settlement was well begun and the aiiairs of the colony 

came into a better 
condition, the rest- 
less Smith, accom- 
panied by New- 
port and twenty 
others, ascended 
and explored 
James River for 
forty-five miles. 
This was the first 
of those marvelous 
expeditions which 
were undertaken 
and carried out by 
Smith's enterprise 
and daring. Just 
below the falls of 
the river, at the 
present site of 
Richmond, the 
English explorers 
came upon the 
capital of Pow- 
hatan, the Indian king. Smith was not greatly impressed with the mag- 
nificence of an empire whose chief city was a squalid village of twelve 
wigwams. The native monarch received the foreigners with formal 
courtesy and used his authority to moderate the dislike which his sub- 
jects manifested at the intrusion. About the last of May the company 
returned to Jamestown, and fifteen days later Newport embarked for 
England. 

The colonists now for the first time began to realize their situation. 
They were alone amid the solitudes of the New World. The beauties 
of the Virginia wilderness were around them, but the terrors of the 




CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH. 



VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 97 

approaching ^Yinter were already present to their imagination. In the 
latter part of August dreadful diseases broke out in the settlement, and 
the colony was brought to the verge of ruin. The fort which had been 
built for the defence of the plantation was filled with the sick and dying. 
At one time no more than five men were able to go on duty as sentinels. 
Bartholomew Gosnold, the projector of the colony and one of the best 
men in the council, died, and before the middle of September one-half 
of the whole number had been swept off by the terrible malady. If the 
frosts of autumn had not come to check the ravages of disease, no soul 
would have been left to tell the story. 

Civil dissension was added to the other calamities of the settlement. 
President Wingfield, an unprincipled man, and his confederate, George 
Kendall, a member of the council, were detected in embezzling the stores 
of the colony. Attempting to escape in the company's vessel, they were 
arrested, impeached and removed from office. Only three councilmen 
now remained, Ratcliffc, INIartin and Smith ; the first was chosen presi- 
dent. He ^vas a man who possessed neither ability nor courage, and the 
affairs of the settlers grew worse and worse. After a few weeks of vacil- 
lation and incompetency, he, like his predecessor, was caught in an attempt 
to abandon the colony, and willingly gave up an office which he could not 
fill. Only Martin and Smith now remained ; the former elected the lat- 
ter president of Virginia ! It Avas a forlorn piece of business, but very 
necessary for the public good. In their distress and bitterness there had 
come to pass among the colonists a remarkable unanimity as to Smith's 
merits and abilities. The new administration entered upon the discharge 
of its duties without a particle of opposition. 

The new president, though not yet thirty years of age, was a veteran 
in every kind of valuable human experience. Born an Englishman; 
trained as a soldier in the wars of Holland ; a traveler in France, Italy 
and Egypt ; again a soldier in Hungary ; captured by the Turks and 
sold as a slave; sent from Constantinople to a prison in the Crimea; 
killing a taskmaster who beat him, and then escaping through the woods 
of Russia to Western Europe ; going with an army of adventurers against 
Morocco; finally returning to England and joining the London Com- 
pany, — he was now called upon by the very enemies who had persecuted 
and ill-treated him to rescue them and their colony from destruction. A 
strange and wonderful career ! John Smith was altogether the most noted 
man in the early history of America. 

Under the new administration the Jamestown settlement soon began 
to show signs of vitality and progress. Smith's first care, after the set- 
tlers were in a measure restored to health, was to improve the buildingg 

7 



98 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the plantation. The fortifications of the place were strengthened, 
dwellings were rej)aired, a storehouse erected, and everything made ready 
for the coming winter. The next measure was to secure a supply of pro- 
visions from the surrounding country. A plentiful harvest among the 
Indians had compensated in some degree for the mismanagement and 
rascality of the former officers of the colony, but to procure corn from the 
natives was not an easy task. Although ignorant of the Indian language, 
Smith undertook the hazardous enterprise. Descending James River as 
far as Hampton Roads, he landed with his five companions, went boldly 
among the natives, and began to offer them hatchets and copper coins in 
exchange for corn. The Indians only laughed at the proposal, and then 
mocked the half-starved foreigners by oifering to barter a piece of bread 
for Smith's sword and musket. Finding that good treatment was only 
thrown away, the English captain formed the desperate resolution of fight- 
ing. He and his men fired a volley among the affi-ighted savages, who 
ran yelling into the woods. Going straight to their wigwams, he. found 
an abundant store of corn, but forbade his men to take a grain until the 
Indians should return to attack them. Sixty or seventy painted warriors, 
headed by a priest who carried an idol in his arms, soon came out of the 
forest and made a violent onset. The English not only stood their ground, 
but made a rush, wounded several of the natives and captured their idol. 
A parley now ensued ; the terrified priest came and humbly begged for his 
fallen deity, but Smith stood grimly with his musket across the pros- 
trate idol, and would grant no terms until six unarmed Indians had loaded 
his boat with corn. Then the image was given up, beads and hatchets 
were liberally distributed among the warriors who ratified the peace by 
performing a dance of friendship, while Smith and his men rowed up the 
river with a boat-load of supplies. 

There were other causes of rejoicing at Jamestown. The neighbor- 
ing Indians, made liberal by their own abundance, began to come into 
the fort Avith voluntary contributions. The fear of famine passed away. 
The woods were full of wild turkeys and other game, inviting to the chase 
as many as delighted in such excitement. Good discipline was maintained 
in the settlement and friendly relations established with several of the 
native tribes. Seeing the end of their distresses, the colonists revived in 
spirit; cheerfulness and hope took the place of melancholy and despair. 

As soon as the setting in of winter had made an abandonment of 
the colony impossible, the president, to whose ardor winter and summer 
were alike, gave himself freely to the work of exploring the country. 
With a company of six Englishmen and two Indian guides he began the 
ascent of the Chickahominy River. It was generally believed by the 



VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 99 

people of Jamestown that by going np this stream they could reach the 
Pacific Ocean. Smith knew well enough the absurdity of such an opin- 
ion, but humored it because of the opportunity which it gave him to 
explore new territory. The rest might dig imaginary gold-dust and hunt 
for the Pacific ; he would see the country and map the course of the 
river. 

The company proceeded up the Chickahominy until their barge ran 
aground in shallow water. JNIooring the boat in a place of safety, Smith left 
four of the Englishmen to guard it, and with the other two and the Indian 
guides ascended the stream in a canoe. When this smaller craft could go 
no farther, it was put in charge of the white men, while the captain, with 
only the savages, proceeded on foot. For twenty miles he continued along 
the banks of the river, now dwindled to a mere creek winding about the 
woods and meadows. Meanwhile, the men who were left to protect the 
barge disobeyed their orders, and wandering into the forest, were attacked 
by three hundred Indians under the command of their king, Opechan- 
canough, the brother of Powhatan. Three of the Englishmen escaped 
to the boat, but the fourth, George Cassen by name, was taken prisoner. 
Him the savages compelled by torture to reveal the whereabouts of Smith. 
The two men who guarded the canoe were next overtaken and killed. 
The captain himself was at last discovered, attacked, wounded with an 
arrow and chased through the woods. The missiles of the barbarians 
flew around him in a shower, but he compelled the Indian guides to stand 
between him and his enemies, and every discharge of his musket brought 
down a savage. He fought like a lion at bay, tied one of the guides to 
his left arm for a l)uckler, ran and fired by turns, stumbled into a morass, 
and was finally overtaken. The savages were still wary of their danger- 
ous antagonist until he laid down his gun, made signs of surrender and 
was pulled out of the mire. 

Without exhibiting the least signs of fear, Smith demanded to see 
the Indian chief, and on being taken into the presence of that dignitary 
began to excite his interest and curiosity by showing him a pocket com- 
pass and a watch. These mysterious instruments struck the Indians 
with awe ; and profiting by his momentary advantage, the prisoner began 
to draw figures on the ground, and to give his captors some rude lessons 
in geography and astronomy. The savages were amazed and listened for 
an hour, but then grew tired, bound their captive to a tree and prepared 
to shoot him. At the critical moment he flourished his compass in the 
air as though performing a ceremony, and the Indians forbore to shoot. 
His sagacity and courage had gained the day, but the more appalling 
danger of torture was vet to be avoided. The savages, however, were 



100 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

thoroiiglily superstitious, and became afraid to proceed against liim except 
in the most formal manner. He was regarded by them as an inhabitant 
of another world whom it was dangerous to touch. 

Smith was first taken to the town of Orapax, a few miles north- 
east of the site of Richmond. Here he found the Indians makinsc 
great preparations to attack and destroy Jamestown. They invited him 
to join them and become their leader, but he refused, and then terrified 
them by describing the cannon and other destructive weapons of the 
English. He also managed to write a letter to his,^ countrymen at the 
settlement, telling them of his captivity and their own peril, asking for 
certain articles, and requesting especially that those bearing the note should 
be thoroughly frightened before their return. This letter, which seemed 
to them to have such mysterious power of canying intelligence to a dis- 
tance, was not lost on the Indians, who dreaded the writer more than ever. 
When the warriors bearing the epistle arrived at Jamestown and found 
everything precisely as Smith had said, their terror and amazement knew 
no bounds, and as soon as they returned to Orapax all thought of attack- 
ing the settlement was at once given up. 

The Indians now marched their captive about from village to vil- 
lage, the interest and excitement constantly increasing, until, near the 
fork of York River, they came to Pamunkey, the capital of Opechan- 
canough. Here Smith was turned over to the priests, who assembled in 
their Long House, or judgment-hall, and for three days together danced 
around him, sang and yelled after the manner of their superstition. The 
object was to determine by this wild ceremony what their prisoner's fate 
should be. The decision was against him, and he was condemned to death. 

It was necessary that the sanction of the Indian emperor should 
be given to the sentence, and Smith Avas now taken twenty-five miles 
down the river to a town where Powhatan lived in winter. The savage 
monarch was now sixty years of age, and, to use Smith's own language, 
looked every inch a king. He received the prisoner with all the rude 
formalities peculiar to his race. Going to the Long House of the village, 
the emperor, clad in a robe of raccoon skins, took his seat on a kind of 
throne prepared for the occasion. His two daughters sat right and left, 
while files of warriors and women of rank were ranged around the hall. 
The king solemnly reviewed the cause and ^^onfirmcd the sentence of 
death. Two large stones were brought into the hall, Smith was dragged 
forth bound, and his head put into position to be crushed with a war- 
club. A stalwart painted savage was ordered out of the rank and stood 
ready for the bloody tragedy. The signal was given, the grim execu- 
tioner raised his bludgeon, and another moment had decided the fate of 



VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 101 

both the illustrious captive and his colony. But the peril went by harm- 
less. Matoaka,* the eldest daughter of Powhatan, sprang from her seat 
and rushed between the warrior's uplifted club and the prostrate prisoner. 
She clasped his head in her arms and held on with the resolution of despau- 
until her father, yielding to her frantic appeals, ordered Smith to be 
unbound and lifted up. Again he was rescued from a terrible death. 
There is no reason in the world for doubting the truth of this affecting 
and romantic story, one of the most marvelous and touching in the his- 
tory of any nation. 

Powhatan, having determined to spare his captive's life, received 
him into favor. The prisoner should remain in the household of the mon- 
arch, making hatchets for the warriors and toys for the king's daugliters. 
By degrees his liberties were enlarged, and it was even agreed soon 
afterward that he should return to his own people at Jamestown. The 
conditions of his liberation were that he should send back to Orapax two 
cannons and a grindstone. Certain warriors were to accompany Smith to 
the settlement and carry the articles to Powhatan. There should then 
be peace a^id friendship between the English and the Red men. The 
journey was accordingly begun, the company camping at night in the 
woods, and Smith being in constant peril of his life from the uncertain 
disposition of the savages. But the colony was reached in safety, the lost 
captain and his twelve Indian guides being received with great gladness. 

Smith's first and chief care was to make a proper impression on 
the minds of the savages. He had improved the opportunities of his 
captivity by learning the language of Powhatan's people, and by making 
himself familiar with their peculiarities and weaknesses — an experience of 
vast importance to himself and the colony. He now ordered the two 
cannons which he had promised to give Powhatan to be brought out and 
loaded to the muzzle with stones. Then, under pretence of teaching the 
Indians gunnery, he had the pieces discharged among the tree-tops, which 
were bristling with icicles. There was a terrible crash, and the savages, 
cowering with fetn- and amazement, could not be induced to touch the 
dreadful engines. The barbarous delegation returned to their king with 
neither guns nor grindstones. 

As a matter of fact, the settlers were very little to be dreaded by 
anybody. Only thirty-eight of them were left alive, and these were frost- 
bitten and half starved. Their only competent leader had been absent 
for seven weelis in the middle of one of the severest winters known in 

* Powhatan's tribe had a superstition that no one wliose real name was unknoivn conkl 
be injured. They therefore told the English falsely that Matoaka's name was Poca- 
hontas. 



102 . HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

mcclern times. The old fears and discontents of the colonists had revived ; 
and when Smith returned to the settlement, he found all hands preparing 
to escape in the pinnace as soon as the ice should break in the river. 
"With much persuasion and a few wholesome threats he induced the 
majority to abandon this project, but the factious spirits of the colony, 
burning with resentment against him and his influence, made a conspir- 
acy to kill him, and he knew not what hour might be his last. 

In the midst of these dark days Captain Newport arrived from 
England. He brought a full store of supplies and one hundred and 
twenty emigrants. Great was the joy throughout the little plantation ; 
only the president was at heart as much grieved as gladdened, for he saw 
in the character of the new comers no promise of anything but vexation 
and disaster. Here were thirty-four gentlemen at the head of the list 
to begin ^Yith ; then came gold-hunters, jewelers, engravers, adventurers, 
strollers and vagabonds, many of W|hom had more business in jail than 
at Jamestown. To add to Smith's chagrin, this company of worthless 
creatures had been sent out contrary to his previous protest and injunc- 
tion. He had urged Newport to bring over only a few industrious 
mechanics and laborers; but the love of gold among the members of the 
London Company had prevailed over common sense to send to Virginia 
another crowd of profligates. 

The kind of industry which Smith had encouraged in the colony 
was now laughed at. As soon as the weather would permit, the new- 
comers and as many of the old settlers as had learned nothing from the 
past year's experience began to stroll about the country digging for gold. 
In a bank of sand at the mouth of a small tributary of the James some 
glittering particles were found, and the whole settlement was ablaze with 
excitement. ]\Iartin and Newport, both members of the council, were 
carried away with the common fanaticism. The former already in imagi- 
nation saw himself loaded with wealth and honored with a peerage. The 
latter, having filled one of his ships with the supposed gold-dust, sent it 
to England, and then sailed up James Eiver to find the Pacific Ocean ! 
Fourteen weeks of the precious springtime, that ought to have been given 
to ploughing and planting, were consumed in this stupid nonsense. Even 
the Indians ridiculed the madness of men who for imaginary grains of 
gold Avere wasting their chances for a crop of corn. 

In this general folly Smith was quite forgotten ; but foreseeing that 
the evil must soon ^'ork its own cure, he kept his patience, and in the 
mean time busied himself with one of his most brilliant and successful 
enterprises ; this was no less than the exploration of Chesapeake Bay and 
its tributaries. Accompanied by Dr. Russell and thirteen other comrades 



VIRGINIA.— FIRST CHARTER. 



103 



who had remained faithful to him, he left Jamestown on the 2d day of 
June. He had nothing but an open barge of three tons' burden, but in 
this he steered boldly out by way of Hampton Roads and Cape Henry 
as far as Smith's Island. Returning thence around the peninsula which 
ends with Cape Charles, the survey of the eastern shore of the bay was 
begun, and continued northward as far as the river Wicomico, in Mary- 
land. From this point the 
expedition crossed over to the 
mouth of the Patuxent, and 
thence coasted northward along 
the western side to the Pataps- 
co. Here some members of 
the company became discon- 
tented, and insisted on return- 
ing to the colony. Smith gave 
a reluctant consent, but in steer- 
ing southward had the good 
fortune to enter the mouth of 
the Potomac. The crew were 
so much pleased with tlie pros- 
pect that they agreed to explore 
the great river before returning 
homeward. Accordingly, the 
barge was steered up stream as 
far as the falls above Greorge- 
town. The country was much 
admired ; and when the explor- 
ers were tired of adventure, 
they dropped down the river 
to the bay, and turning south- 
ward, reached Jamestown on 
the 21st of July. 

After a rest of three days a second voyage was begun. This time 
the expedition reached the head of the bay, and sailed up the Susquehanna 
River until the volume of water would float the barge no farther. Here 
an acquaintance was made with a race of Indians of gigantic stature and 
fiercer disposition than was known among the natives of Virginia. On 
the return voyage Smitli passed down the bay, exploring every sound and 
inlet of any note, as far as the mouth of the Rappahannoc ; this stream 
he ascended to the head of navigation, and then, returning by way of the 
York and Chesapeake Rivers, reached Jamestown on the 7th of Septem- 




Jamestown and Vicinity. 



Smith's First Voyage in the Chesapeake — 
Smith's Second Voyage in the Chesapeake 



104 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ber. He had been absent a little more than three months, had explored 
the winding coast of the great bay for fully three thousand miles, had 
encountered hostile savages by hundreds and thousands, had been driven 
hither and thither by storms, once wrecked, once stung by a poisonous 
fish and brought so near to death that his comrades digged his grave ; 
now he was come back to the colony with a Map of the Chesapeake, 
which he sent by Newport to England, and which is still preserved. Only 
one man had been lost on the expedition. Richard Fetherstone had died, 
and was buried on the Rappahannoc. 

Within three days after Smith's return to Jamestown he was form- 
ally elected president. He entered at once upon the duties of his office, 
correcting abuses, enforcing the laws and restoring order to the distracted 
colony. There was a marked change for the better ; gold-hunting be- 
came unpopular, and the rest of the year was noted as a season of great 
prosperity. Late in the autumn Newport arrived with seventy additional 
immigrants, increasing the number to more than two hundred. The 
health was so good that only seven deaths occurred between Sej^tember 
and May of the following year. Excellent discipline was maintained. 
Every well man was obliged to work six hours a day. New houses were 
built, new fields fenced in ; and all through the winter the sound of axe 
and saw and hammer gave token of a prosperous and growing village. 
Such was the condition of affairs in the spring of 1609. 



CHAPTER X. 

VIRGIXIA.— THE SECOND CHARTER. 

ON the 23d of May, 1609, King James, without consulting the wishes 
of his American colonist,?, revoked their constitution, and granted to 
the London Company a new charter, by the terms of which .the govern- 
ment of Virginia was completely changed. The territory included under 
the new patent extended from Cape Fear to Sandy Hook, and westward 
to the Pacific Ocean. The members of the Superior Council were now 
to be chosen by the stockholders of the company, vacancies were to be 
filled by the councilors, who were also empowered to elect a governor 
from their own number. 

The council was at once organized in accordance with this charter^ 



VIRGINIA.— SECOND CHARTER. 105 

and the excellent Lord De La Ware chosen governor for life. With him 
were joined in authority Sir Thomas Gates, lieutenant-general ; Sir George 
Somers, admiral ; Christopher Newport, vice-admiral ; Sir Thomas Dale, 
high marshal ; Sir Ferdinand Wainman, master of horse ; and other dig- 
nitaries of similar sort. Attracted by the influence of these noblemen, a 
large company of more than five hundred emigrants was speedily col- 
lected, and early in June a fleet of nine vessels sailed for America. Lord 
Delaware did not himself accompany the expedition, but delegated his 
authority to three commissioners, Somers, Gates and Newport. About 
the middle of July the ships, then passing the West Indies, were over- 
taken and scattered by a storm. One small vessel was wrecked, and 
another, having on board the commissioners of Lord Delaware, was driven 
ashore on one of the Bermuda Islands, where the crew remained until 
April of the following year ; the other seven ships came safely to James- 
town. 

But who should now be governor ? Captain Smith was at first dis- 
posed to give up his office, but in a few days the affairs of the colony 
were plainly going to ruin, and he was urged by the old settlers and the 
better class of new-comers to continue in authority. Accordingly, declar- 
ing that his powers as president under the old constitution did not cease 
until some one should arrive from England properly commissioned to 
supersede him, he kept resolutely to the discharge of his duties, altliough 
in daily peril of his life. He arrested Ratcliife* and Archer, put some 
of the most rebellious brawlers in prison, and then, in order to distract 
the attention of the rest, planned two new settlements, one, of a hun- 
dred and twenty men, under the command of ]\Iartin, to be established 
at Nansemond ; the other, of the same number, under Captain West, to 
form a colony at the fells of the James. Both companies behaved badly. 
In a few days after their departure troubles arose between West's men 
and the Indians. The president was sent for in order to settle the diffi- 
culty ; but finding his efforts unavailing, he returned to Jamestown. On 
his way down the river, while asleep in the boat, a bag of gunpowder 
lying near by exploded, burning and tearing his flesh so terribly that in 
his agony he leaped overboard. Being rescued from the river, he was 
carried to the fort, where he lay for some time racked with fever and tor- 
tured with his wounds. Finally, despairing of relief under the imperfect 
medical treatment which the colony afforded, he decided to return to 
England. He accordingly delegated his authority to Sir George Percy, 
a brother of the earl of Northumberland, and about the middle of Sep- 

* This man's real name was not Katcliffe, but Sicklemore. He had been president of 
the colony in 1607, and was an accomplished thief as well as an impostor. 



106 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tember, 1609, left the scene of his heroic toils and sufferings, never to 
return. 

There remained at Jamestown a colony of four hundred and ninety 
persons, well armed, well sheltered and well supplied. But such was the 
viciousness and profligacy of the greater number, and such the insubor- 
dination and want of proper leadership, after Smith's departure, that by 
the besinnino; of winter the settlement was face to face with starvation. 
The Indians became hostile and hovered around the plantations, strag- 
glers were intercepted and murdered, houses ^^•ere fired at every opportu- 
nity, disease returned to add to the desolation, and cold and hunger 
completed the terrors of a winter which was long remembered with a 
shudder and called The Starving Time. By the last of March there 
were only sixty persons alive, and these, if help had not come speedily, 
could hardly have lived a fortnight. 

Meanwhile, Sir Thomas Gates and his companions, who had been 
shipwrecked in the Bermudas, had constructed out of the materials of 
their old ship, with such additional timber as they could cut from the for- 
est, two small vessels, and set sail for Virginia. They came in full expec- 
tation of a joyful greeting from a happy colony. What, therefore, was 
their disappointment and grief when a few wan, half-starved ^vretches 
crawled out of their cabins to beg for bread ! Whatever stores the com- 
missioners had brought with them were distributed to the famishing 
settlers, and Gates assumed control of the government. 

But the colonists had now fully determined to abandon for ever a 
place which jpromised them nothing but disaster and death. In vain did 
the commissioners remonstrate ; they were almost driven by the clamors 
around them to yield to the common will. An agreement was made to 
sail for Newfoundland ; there the remnant of the Virginia colony should 
be distributed among the fishermen until such time as some friendly ship 
might carry them back to England. 

On the 8th of June Jamestown was abandoned. The disheartened 
settlers, noAv grown resentful, were anxious before leaving to burn the 
town, but Gates defeated this design, and was himself the last man to go 
on board. Four pinnaces lay at their moorings in the river ; embark- 
ing in these, the colonists dropped down with the tide, and it seemed as 
though the enterprise of Ealeigh and Gosnold had ended in failure and 
humiliation. 

But Lord Delaware was already on his way to America. Before 
the escaping settlers had passed out of the mouth of the river, the ships 
of the noble governor came in sight. Here were additional immigrants, 
plentiful supplies and promise of better things to come. Would the 



VIRGINIA.— SECOXD CHARTER. 107 

colonists return ? The majority gave a reluctant consent, and before night- 
fall the fires were again kindled on the hearthstones of the deserted village. 
The next day was gi\'en to religious services; the governor caused his com- 
mission to be read, and entered upon the discharge of his duties. The 
amiability and virtue of his life, no less than the mildness and decision of 
his administration, endeared him to all and inspired the colony with hope. 
Autumn came, and Lord Delaware fell sick. Against his own will, 
and to the great regret of the colony, he was compelled to return to Eng- 
land. Having reluctantly delegated his authority to Percys — the same 
who had been the deputy of Captain Smith — the good Dela^vare set sail 
for his own country. It was an event of great discouragement ; but for- 
tunately, before a knowledge of the governor's departure reached England, 
the Superior Council had despatched a new shipload of stores and another 
company of emigrants, under command of Sir Thomas Dale. The vessel 
arrived at Jamestown on the 10th of IMay, and Percy was superseded by 
the captain, who bore a commission from the council. Dale had been a 
military officer in the wars of the Netherlands, and he now adopted a 
system of martial' law as the basis of his administration. He was, how- 
ever, a man so tolerant and just that very little complaint was made on 
account of his arbitrary method of governing. 

One of Dale's first acts was to write to the council in England, 
requesting that body to send out immediately as large a number of colon- 
ists as possible, with an abundance of supplies. For once the council acted 
promptly ; and in the latter part of August, Sir Thomas Gates arrived with 
a fleet of six ships, having on board three hundred immigrants and a large 
quantity of stores. There was great thanksgiving in the colony, a fresh 
enthusiasm was enkindled, and contentment came with a sense of securit}'. 
Thus far the property of the settlers at Jamestown had been held 
in common. The colonists had Avorked together, and in time of harvest 
deposited their products in storehouses which were under the control of 
the governor and council. I^ow the right of holding private property 
was recognized. Governor Gates had the lands divided so that each set- 
tler should have three acres of his own; every family might cultivate a 
garden and plant an orchard, the fruits of which no one but the owner 
was allowed to gather. The benefits of this system of labor were at once 
apparent. The laborers, as soon as each Avas permitted to claim the 
rewards of his own toil, became cheerful and industrious. There vrere 
now seven hundred persons in the colony ; new plantations were laid out 
on every side, and new settlements were formed on both banks of the 
river and at considerable distances from Jamestown. The promise of an 
American State, so long deferred, seemed at last to be realized. 



108 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XI. 

VIRGINIA.— THE THIRD CHARTER. 

EARLY in the year 1612 the London Company obtained from the 
king a third patent, by the terms of which the character of the gov- 
ernment was entirely changed. The Superior Council was abolished and 
the powers of that body transferred to the stockholders, who were author- 
ized to hold public meetings, to elect their own officers, to discuss and 
decide all questions of law and right, and to govern the colony on their 
own responsibility^ The cause of this change was the unprofitableness 
of the colony as a financial enterprise, and the consequent dissatisfaction 
of the company with the management of the council. The new patent, 
although not so intended by the king, was a great step toward a demo- 
cratic form of government in Virginia. 

2. The year 1613 was marked by two important events, both of them 
resulting from the lawless behavior of Captain Samuel Argall. While 
absent on an expedition up the Potomac River he learned that Pocahon- 
tas, who had had some difficulty with her father's tribe, was residing in 
that neighborhood. Procuring the help of a treacherous Indian family, 
the English captain enticed the unsuspecting girl on board his vessel and 
carried her captive to Jamestown. The authorities of the colony, instead 
of punishing Argall for this atrocity, aggravated the outrage by demand- 
ing that Powhatan should pay a heavy ransom for his daughter's libera- 
tion. The old king indignantly refused, and ordered his tribes to prepare 
for war. IVIeanwhile, Pocahontas, who seems not to have been greatly 
grieved on account of her captivity, was converted to the Christian faith 
and became by baptism a member of the Episcopal Church. She was 
led to this course of action chiefly by the instruction and persuasion of 
John Rolfe, a worthy young man of the colony, who after the baptism 
of the princess sought her in marriage. Powhatan and his chief men 
gave their consent, and the nuptials were duly celebrated in the spring 
of the following year. By this means war was averted, and a bond of 
union established between the Indians and the whites. 

3. Two years later Rolfe and his wife went to England, where they 
were received in the highest circles of society. Captain Smith gave them 
a letter of introduction to Queen Anne, and many other flattering atten- 



VIRGINIA.— THIRD CHARTER. 109 

tions were bestowed on the modest daughter of the Western wilderness. 
In the following year, Rolfe made j^reparations to return to America ; but 
before embarking, Pocahontas fell sick and died. There was left of this 
marriage a son, who afterward came to Jamestown and was a man of some 
importance in the aifairs of the colony. To him several influential families 
of Virginians still trace their origin. John Randolph of Roanoke was a 
grandson of the sixth generation from Pocahontas. 

AVhen Captain Argall returned from his expedition up the Potomac, 
he was sent with an armed vessel to the coast of jSIaine. The avowed 
object of the voyage was to protect the English fishermen who frequented 
the waters between the Bay of Fundy and Cape Cod, but the real jiur- 
pose was to destroy the colonies of France, if any should be found A^'ithin 
the limits of the territory claimed by England. Arriving at his destina- 
tion, Argall soon found opportunity for the display of his violence and 
rapacity. The French authorities of Acadia were at this time building 
a village on Mount Desert Island, near the mouth of the Penobscot. This 
settlement was the first object of Argall's vengeance. The place was cap- 
tured, pillaged and burned ; part of the inhabitants were put on board a 
vessel bound for France, and the rest were carried to the Chesapeake. The 
French colony at the mouth of the St. Croix River next attracted the 
attention of the English captain, who cannonaded the fort and destroyed 
eveiy building in the settlement. Passing thence across the bay to 
Port Royal, Argall burned the deserted hamlet which Poutrincourt and 
his companions had built there eight years before. On his way back to 
Virginia he made a descent on the Dutch traders of INIanhattan Island, 
destroyed many of their huts, and compelled the settlers to acknowledge 
the sovereignty of England. The result of these outrageous proceedings 
was to confine the French settlements in America to the banks of the St. 
Lawrence, and to leave a clear coast for the English flag from Nova Scotia 
to Florida. 

In the month of March, 1614, Sir Thomas Gates returned to Eng- 
land, leaving the government in the hands of Dale, whose administration 
lasted for two years. During this time the laws of the colony were 
much improved, and, more important still, the colonial industry took 
an entirely diiferent form. Hitherto the labor of the settlers had been 
directed to the planting of vineyards and to the manufacture of potash, 
soap, glass and tar. The managers of the London Company had at last 
learned that these articles could be produced more cheaply in Europe 
than in America. They had also discovered that there were certain 
products peculiar to the New AYorld which might be raised and exported 
with great profit. Chief among such native products was the plant called 



110 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tobacco, the use of which had already become fiishionable in Spain, Eng- 
land and France. This, then, became the leading staple of the colony, 
and was even used for money. So entirely did the settlers give them- 
selves to the cultivation of the famous weed that the very streets of 
Jamestown were ploughed up and planted with it. 

It was a great disaster to the people of the colony when Argall was 
chosen deputy-governor. He was a man who had one virtue, courage ; 
and in all other respects was thoroughly bad. The election occurred in 
1617, and through the influence of an unscrupulous faction composed of 
Argall's friends he was not only selected as Lord Delaware's deputy in 
America, but was also made an admiral of the English navy. His 
administration was characterized by fraud, oppression and violence. 
Neither property nor life was secure against his tyranny and greed. By 
and by, the news of his proceedings reached England ; emigration ceased 
at once, and the colony became a reproacli, until Lord Delaware restored 
confidence by embarking in person for Virginia. But the worthy noble- 
man died on the voyage, and Argall continued his exactions and cruelty. 
In the spring of 1619, he was at last displaced through the influence 
of Sir Edwyn Sandys, and the excellent Sir George Yeardley appointed 
to succeed him. 

^Martial law was now abolished. The act which required each 
settler to give a part of his labor for the common benefit was also 
repealed, and thus the people were freed from a kind of colonial servi- 
tude. Another action was taken of still greater importance. Governor 
Yeardley, in accordance with instructions received from the company, 
divided the plantations along James River into eleven districts, called 
boroughs, and issued a proclamation to the citizens of each borough to 
elect two of their own number to take part in the government of the 
colony. The elections were duly held, and on the 30th of July, 1619, 
the delegates came together at Jamestown. Here was organized the 
Virginia House of Burgesses, a colonial legislature, the first popular 
assembly held in the New World. 

The Burgesses had many privileges, but very little power. They 
might discuss the affairs of the colony, but could not control them ; pass 
laws, but could not enforce them; declare their rights, but could not 
secure them. Though the governor and council should botli concur in 
the resolutions of the assembly, no law was binding until ratified by the 
company in England. Only one great benefit was gained — the freedom 
of debate. Wherever that is recognized, liberty must soon follow. 

The year 1619 was also marked by the introduction of negro slavery 
into Virginia. The servants of the people of Jamestown had hitherto 



VIRGINIA.— THIRD CHARTER. Ill 

been jjersons of English or German descent, and their term of service 
had varied from a few months to many years. No perpetual servitude 
had thus far been recognized, nor is it likely that the English colonists 
would of themselves have instituted the system of slave labor. In the 
month of August a Dutch man-of-war sailed up the river to the planta- 
tions, and offered by auction twenty Africans. They were purchased by 
the wealthier class of planters, and made slaves for life. It was, however, 
nearly a half century from this time before the system of negro slavery 
became well established in the English colonies. 

Twelve years had now passed since the founding of Jamestown. 
Eighty thousand pounds sterling had been spent by the company in the 
attempted development of the new State. As a result there were only 
six hundred men in the colony, and these for the most part were rovers 
who intended to return to England. Sir Thomas Smith, the treasurer, 
had managed matters badly. Very few families had emigrated, and 
society in Virginia was coarse and vicious. In this condition of affairs 
Smith was superseded by Sir Ed'wyn Sandys, a man of great prudence and 
integrity. A reformation of abuses was at once begun and carried out. 
By his wisdom and liberality the new treasurer succeeded before the end 
of the summer of 1620 in collecting and sending to America a company 
of twelve hundred and sixty-one persons. Another measure of still 
greater importance was equally successful. By the influence of Sandys 
and his friends, ninety young women of good breeding and modest man- 
ners were induced to emigrate to Jamestown. In the following spring sixty 
others of similar good character came over, and received a hearty welcome. 

The statement that the early Virginians bought their Maves is 
absurd. All that was done was this : when Sandys sent the first company 
of women to America, he charged the colonists with the e'xpense of the 
voyage — a measure made necessary by the fact that the company was 
almost bankrupt. Aw assessment was made according to the number 
who were brought over, and the rate fixed at a hundred and twenty 
pounds of tobacco for each passenger — a sum which the settlers cheerfully 
paid. The many marriages that followed were celebrated in the usual 
way, and nothing further was thought of the transaction. "When the sec- 
ond shipload came, the cost of transportation was reported at a hundred and 
fifty pounds for each passenger, which was also paid without complaint. 

In July of 1621 the London Company, which had now almost 
run its course, gave to Virginia a code of Avritten laws and frame of 
government modeled after the English constitution. The terms of the 
instrument were few and easily understood. The governor of the colony 
was as hitherto to be appointed by the company, a council to be chosen 



112 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

hy the same body, and a house of burgesses, two members from each 
district, to be elected by the people. In making laws the councilors and 
burgesses sat together. When a new law was proposed, it was debated, 
and if passed received the governor's signature, then was transmitted to 
England and ratified or rejected by the comj)any. The constitution also 
acknowledged the right of petition and of trial by jury, but the most 
remarkable and liberal concession was that which gave the burgesses the 
power of vetoing any objectionable acts of the company. 

Governor Yeardley's administration ended in October of 1621. 
At that time Sir Francis Wyatt "arrived, commissioned as governor and 
bearing the new constitution of Virginia. The colony was found in a 
very flourishing condition. The settlements extended for a hundred and 
forty miles along both banks of James River and far into the interior, 
especially northward toward the Potomac. There remained but one 
cause of foreboding and alarm. The Indians had seen in all this growth 
and prosperity the doom of their own race, and had determined to make 
one desperate effort to destroy their foes before it should be too late. To 
do this in open war was impossible ; necessity and the savage impulse work- 
ing together suggested treachery as the only means likely to accomplish 
the result. Circumstances favored the villainous undertaking. Pocahon- 
tas was dead. The peaceable and faith-keeping Powhatan had likewise 
passed away. The ambitious and crafty Opechancanough, who succeeded 
to his brother's authority in 1618, had ever since been plotting the destruc- 
tion of the English colony, and the time had come for the bloody tragedy. 

The savages carefully concealed their murderous purpose. Until 
the very day of the massacre they continued on terms of friendship with 
the English. They came unmolested into the settlements, ate with their 
victims, borrowed boats and guns, made purchases, and gave not the 
slightest token of hostility. The attack was planned for the 22d of 
March, at mid-day. At the fatal hour the work of butchery began. 
Every hamlet in Virginia was attacked by a l^and of yelling barbarians. 
No age, sex or condition awakened an emotion of ]5ity. ]\Ien, women 
and children were indiscriminately slaughtered, until three hundred and 
forty -seven had perished under the knives and hatchets of the savages. 

But Indian treachery was thwarted by Indian faithfulness. What 
was the chagrin and rage of the warriors to find that Jamestown and the 
other leading settlements had been warned at the last moment, and were 
prepared for the onset ? A converted Red man, wishing to save an Eng- 
lishman who had been his friend, went to him on the night before the 
massacre and revealed the plot. The alarm was spread among the settle- 
ments, and thus the greater jDart of the colony escaped destruction. But 



VIRGINIA.— THIRD CHARTER. 113 

the outer plantations were entirely destroyed. The people crowded to- 
gether on the larger farms about Jamestown, until of the eighty settlements 
there were only eight remaining. Still, there were sixteen hundred reso- 
lute men in the colony ; and although gloom and despondency prevailed 
for a while, the courage of the settlers soon revived, and sorrow gave 
jjlace to a desire for vengeance. 

It was now the turn of the Indians to suffer. Parties of English 
soldiers scoured the country in every direction, destroying wigwams, 
burning villages and killing every savage that fell in their way, until the 
tribes of Opechancanough were driven into the wilderness. The colon- 
ists, regaining their confidence and zeal, returned to their deserted farms, 
and the next year brought such additions that the census showed a popu- 
lation of two thousand five hundred. 

IVIeanwhile, difficulties arose between the corporation and the king. 
Most of the members of the London Company belonged to the patriot 
party in England, and the freedom with which they were in the habit of 
discussing political and governmental matters was very distasteful to the 
monarch. A meeting of the stockholders, now a numeroas body, was 
held once every three months, and the debates took a wider and still 
wider range. The liberal character of the Virginia constitution ^-as 
offensive to King James, who determined by some means to obtain con- 
trol of the London Company, or else to suppress it altogether. A com- 
mittee was accordingly appointed to look into the affairs of the cor- 
poration and to make a report on its management. The commissioners 
performed their duty, and reported that the company, in addition to being 
a hot-bed of political agitation, was unsound in every part, that the treas- 
ury was bankrupt, and especially that the government of Virginia was 
bad and would continue so until a radical change should be made in the 
constitution of the new State. 

Legal proceedings were now instituted by the ministers to ascer- 
tain whether the company's charter had not been forfeited. The question 
came before the judges, who had no difficulty in deciding that the violated 
jiatent was null and void. In accordance with this decision, the charter 
of the corporation Avas canceled by the king, and in June of 1624 the 
London Company ceased to exist. But its work had been well done ; a 
torch of liberty had been lighted on the banks of the James which all 
the gloomy tyranny of after times could not extinguish. The Virgin- 
ians were not slow to remember and to claim ever afterward the precious 
rights which were guaranteed in the constitution of 1621. And the 
other colonies would be satisfied with nothing less than the chartered 
privileges which were recognized in the laws of the Old Dominion. 



114 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XII. 

VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 

A ROYAL government was now established in Virginia. To the 
colonists themselves the change of authorities Avas scarcely percepti- 
ble. The new administration consisted of a governor and twelve coun- 
cilors appointed by the crown. The General Assembly of the colony 
was left undisturbed, and all the rights and privileges of the colonists 
remained as before. The king's hostility had been directed against the 
London Company, and not against the State of Virginia ; now that the 
former was destroyed the latter was left unmolested. Governor Wyatt 
was continued in office; and in making up the new council the king 
wisely took pains to select the known friends of the colony rather than 
certain untried partisans of his own court. The Virginians found in the 
change of government as much cause of gratitude as of grief. 

King James of England died in 1625. His son, Charles I., a young, 
inexj)erienccd and stubborn prince, succeeded to the throne. The new 
king paid but little attention to the affairs of his American colony, until 
the commerce in tobacco attracted his notice. Seeing in this product a 
source of re^^enue for the crown, he attempted to gain a monopoly of the 
trade, but the colonial authorities outwitted him and defeated the project. 
It is worthy of special note that while conferring with the colony on this 
subject the king recognized the Virginia assembly as a rightfully consti- 
tuted power. The reply which Avas finally returned to the king's proposal 
was signed not only by the governor and council, but by thirty-one of the 
burgesses. 

In 1626 Governor Wyatt retired from office, and Yeardley, the old 
friend and benefactor of the colonists, was reappointed. The young 
State was never more prosperous than under this administration, Avhich 
was terminated by the governor's death, in November of 1627. During 
the preceding summer a thousand new immigrants had come to swell the 
population of the growing province. 

The council of Virginia had a right, in case of an emergency, to 
elect a governor. Such an emergency was now present, and Francis 
West was chosen by the councilors ; but as soon as the death of Yeardley 



VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 115 

was known in England, King Charles commissioned John Harvey to 
assume the government. He arrived in the autumn of 1629, and from 
this time until 1635, the colony was distracted with the presence of a 
most unpopular chief magistrate. He seems to have been disliked on 
general principles, but the greatest source of dissatisfaction was his par- 
tiality to certain speculators and land monopolists who at this time in- 
fested Virginia, to the annoyance and injury of the poorer people. There 
were many old land grants covering districts of territory which were now 
occupied by actual settlers, and between the holders of the lands and the 
holders of the titles violent altercations arose. In these disputes the 
governor became a partisan of the speculators against the people, until 
the outraged assembly of 1635 passed a resolution that Sir John Harvey 
be thrust out of office, and Captain West be appointed in his place "until 
the king's pleasure may be known in this matter." A. majority of the 
councilors sided with the burgesses, and Harvey was obliged to go to 
England to stand his trial. 

King Charles treated the whole affair with contempt. The com- 
missioners appointed by the council of Virginia to conduct Harvey's im- 
peachment were refused a hearing, and he was restored to the governor- 
ship of the unwilling colony. He continued in power until the year 
1639, when he was superseded by Wyatt, who ruled until the spring of 
1642. 

And now came the English Revolution. The exactions and tyranny 
of Charles at last drove his subjects into open rebellion. In January of 
1642, the king and his friends left London, and repairing to Nottingham, 
collected an army of royalists. The capital and southern part of the 
country remained in the power of Parliament. The High Church party 
and the adherents of monarchy took sides with the king, while the re- 
publicans and dissenters made up the opposing forces. The country was 
plunged into the horrors of civil war. After a few years of conflict the 
royal army was routed and dispersed ; the king escaped to Scotland, and 
the leading royalists fled to foreign lands. On the demand of Parliament 
Charles was given up and brought to trial. The cause was heard, a sen- 
tence of death was passed, and on the 30tli of January, 1649, the unhappy 
monarch was beheaded. 

Monarchy was now abolished. Oliver Cromwell, the general of 
the Parliamentary army, was made Lord Protector of the Commonwealth 
of England. By him the destinies of the nation were controlled until 
his death, in 1658, when he was succeeded by his son Richard. But the 
latter, lacking his father's abilities and courage, became alarmed at the 
dangers that gathered around him, and resigned. For a few months the 



116 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

country was in anarcliy, until General Monk, who commanded the Eng- 
lish army of the North, came down from Scotland and declared a restora- 
tion of the monarchy. The exiled son of Charles I. was called home 
and 2)roclaimed king, the joeople acquiesced, Parliament sanctioned the 
measure, and on the IStli of May, 1660, Charles II. was placed on the 
throne of England. 

These were times full of trouble. Virginia shared in some degree 
the distractions of the mother-country, yet the evil done to the new State 
by the conflict in England was less than might have been expected. In 
the first year of the civil war Sir William Berkeley became governor of 
the colony, and, with the exception of a brief visit to England in 1645, 
remained in office for ten years. His administration, notwithstanding the 
commotions abroad, was noted as a time of rapid growth and develop- 
ment. The laws were greatly improved and made conformable to the 
English statutes. The old controversies about the lands were satisfacto- 
rily settled. Cruel punishments were abolished and the taxes equalized. 
The general assembly was regularly convened to bear its part in the gov- 
ernment, and Virginia was in all essential particulars a free as well as a 
prosperous State. So rapid was the progress that in 1646 there were 
twenty thousand people in the colony. 

But there were also drawbacks to the prosperity of Virginia. Re- 
ligious intolerance came with its baleful shadow to disturb the State. The 
faith of the Episcopal Church was established by laM', and dissenting ^^•as 
declared a crime. The Puritans were held in contempt by the people, 
who charged them with being the destroyers of the peace of England. 
In March of 1643 a statute was enacted by the assembly declaring that 
no person who disbelieved the doctrines of the English Church should be 
allowed to teach publicly or privately, or to preach the gospel, within the 
limits of Virginia. The few Puritans in the colony were excluded from 
their places of trust, and some were even driven from their homes. Gov- 
ernor Berkeley, himself a zealous churchman, was a leader in these per- 
secutions, by which all friendly relations with New England were broken 
off for many years. 

A worse calamity befell in a second war with the Indians. Early 
in 1644, the natives, having forgotten their former punishment, and 
believing that in the confusion of the civil war there still remained a hojie 
of destroying the English, planned a general massacre. On the 18th of 
April, at a time when the authorities were somewhat off their guard, the 
savages fell upon the frontier settlements, and before assistance could be 
brought murdered three hundred people., Alarmed at their own atrocity, 
the warriors then fled, but were followed by the English forces and 



VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 117 

driven into the woods and swamps. The aged Opechaneanough was cap- 
tured, and died a prisoner. The tribes were chastised without mercy, and 
were soon glad to i>urchase peace by the cession of large tracts of land. 

The Virginians adhered M-ith great firmness to the cause of Charles 
I. in his war with Parliament, and after his death proclaimed the exiled 
Cliarles XL as rightful sovereign of the country. Cromwell and the 
Parliament were much exasperated at this course of conduct, and mea- 
sures were at once devised to bring the colony to submission. An ordi- 
nance was passed laying heavy restrictions on the commerce of such 
English colonies as refused to acknowledge the supremacy of Parliament. 
All foreign ships, especially those of Holland, were forbidden to enter 
the colonial harbors. In 1651 the noted statute called the Navigation 
Act was passed, and the trade of the colonies was still more seriously 
distressed. In this new la^v it was enacted that the foreign commerce 
of Virginia, now grown into importance, should be carried on wholly in 
English vessels, and directed exclusively to English ports. 

The Virginians held out, and Cromwell determined to employ 
force. A war-vessel called the Guinea was sent into the Chesapeake to 
compel submission, but in the last extreme the Protector showed him- 
self to be just as well as wrathful. There were commissioners on board 
the frigate authorized to make an offer of peace, and this was gladly 
accepted. It was seen that the cause of the Stuarts was hopeless. The 
people of Virginia, although refusing to yield to threats and violence, 
cheerfully entered into negotiations with Cromwell's delegates, and ended 
by acknowledging the supreme authority of Parliament. The terms of 
the settlement were very favorable to popular liberty; the commercial 
restrictions of the two previous years were removed, and the trade of the 
colony was made as free as that of England. No taxes might be levied 
or duties collected except such as were imposed by the general assembly 
of the State. The freedom of an Englishman was guaranteed to every 
citizen, and under the control of her own laws Virginia again grew pros- 
perous. 

No further difficulty arose during the continuance of the Common- 
wealth. The Protector was busied with the affairs of Europe, and had 
neither time nor disposition to interfere in the affairs of a remote colony. 
The Virginians were thus left free to conduct their government as they 
would. Even the important matter of choosing a governor ^vas sub- 
mitted to an election in the House of Burgesses ; when so great a power 
had been once exercised, it was not likely to be relinquished without a 
struggle. Three governors were chosen in this way, and what was at 
first only a privilege soon became a right. Special acts of the assembly 



118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

declared that such a right existed, and that it should be transmitted to 
posterity. 

In 1660, just at the time of the resignation of Richard Cromwell, 
Samuel ]\Iatthews, the last of the three elected governors, died. The 
burgesses were immediately convened, and an ordinance was passed de- 
claring that the supreme authority of Virginia was resident in the colony, 
and would continue there until a delegate with proper credentials should 
arrive from the British government. Having made this declaration, the 
house elected as governor Sir William Berkeley, who by accepting the 
office acknowledged the right of the burgesses to choose. The question 
of recognizing Charles II. as king was debated at the same session, but 
prudence suggested that the colonial authorities would better await the 
natural course of events. For the present it was decided to remain faith- 
ful to Parliament. ISIost of the people, no doubt, desired the restoration, 
but policy forbade any open expressions of such a preference. It would 
be time enough when monarchy was actually restored. 

In May of 1660 Charles II. became king of England. As soon 
as this event was known in Virginia, Governor Berkeley, forgetting the 
source of his own authority, and in defiance of all consistency, issued Avrits 
in the name of the king for the election of a new assembly. The friends 
of royalty were delighted with the prospect. The adherents of the Com- 
monwealth were thrust out of office, and the favorites of the king estab- 
lished in their places. Great benefits were expected from the change, and 
the whole colony was alive with excitement and zeal. But the disap- 
pointment of the people was more bitter than their hopes had been extrav- 
agant. The Virginians soon found that they had exchanged a republican 
tyrant with good principles for a monarchial tyrant with bad ones. King 
Charles II. was the worst monarch of modern times, and the people of 
Virginia had in him and his government a special cause of grief The 
commercial system of the Commonwealth, so far from being abolished, 
was re-enacted in a more hateful form than ever. The new statute pro- 
vided that all the colonial commerce, Avhcther exports or imports, should 
be carried on in English ships, the trade between the colonies was bur- 
dened with a heavy tax for the benefit of the government, and tobacco, 
the staple of Virginia, could be sold nowhere but in England. This 
odious measure gave to English merchantmen a monopoly of the carry- 
ing trade of the colonies, and by destroying competition among the buy- 
ers of tobacco robbed the Virginians to that extent of their leading 
product. Remonstrance was tried in vain. The cold and selfish monarch 
only sneered at the complaints of his American subjects, and the commer- 
cial ordinances were rigorously enforced. 



VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 119 

Charles II. seemed to regard the British empire as personal property 
to be used for the benefit of himself and liis com*tiers. In order to reward 
the wortliless profligates who thronged his court, he began to grant to them 
large tracts of land in Virginia. What did it matter that these lauds had 
been redeemed from the wilderne&s and were covered with orchards and 
gardens' ? It was no uncoznmon thing for an American planter to find that 
his farm, which had been cultivated for a quarter of a ceutury, was given 
away to some dissolute flatterer of the royal household. Great distress 
was occasioned by these iniquitous grants, until finally, in 1673, tlie king 
set a limit to his own recklessness by giving away the whole State. Lord 
Culpepper and the earl of Arlington, two ignoble noblemen, received 
under the great seal a deed by which was granted to them for thirty- 
one years all the dominion of land and water called Virginia. 

Unfortunately, the colonial legislation of these times became as 
selfish and narrow-minded as the policy of the king w^as mean. An 
aristocratic party which had arisen in the colony obtained control of the 
House of Burgesses, and the new laws rivaled those of England in illiber- 
ality. Episcopalianism was again established as the State rehgion. A 
prescriptive ordinance was passed against the Baptists, and the peace-lov- 
ing Quakers were fined, persecuted and imprisoned. Burdensome taxes 
were laid on personal j^roperty and polls ; the holders of large estates were 
exempt and the poorer people afilicted. The salaries of the ofiicers Avere 
secured by a permanent duty on tobacco, and, worst of all, the biennial 
election of burgesses was abolished, so tliat the members of the existing 
assembly continued indefinitely in power. For a while Berkeley and his 
council outdid the tyranny of England. 

And then came open resistance. The people were worn out with 
the governor's exactions, and availed themselves of the first pretext to 
assert their rights by force of arms. A war with tlie Susquehanna In- 
dians furnished the occasion for an iasurrection. The tribes about the 
head of Chesapeake Bay and along the Susquehanna had been attacked by 
the Senecas and driven from their homes. They, m turn, fell upon the 
English settlers of Maryland, and the banks of the Potomac became the 
scene of a border war. Virginia and ]\Iaryland made common cause 
against the savages. John Washington, great-grandfather of the first 
president of the United States, led a comjjany of militia into the enemy's 
couutry, and compelled the Susquehannas to sue for peace. Six of their 
cliieftains went into Virginia as ambassadors, and, to the lasting dishonor 
of the colony, were foully murdered. This atrocity iuaddened the savages, 
and a devastating warfare raged along the Avhole frontier. 

Governor Berkeley, not without some show of justice, sided witli 



120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the Indians. But the colonists remembered only the many acts of 
treachery and bloodshed of which the red men had before been guilty, 
and were determined to have revenge. In this division of sentiment 
among the people, the assembly and the aristocratic party took sides with 
the governor and favored a peace; while the popular party, disliking 
Berkeley and hating the Indians, resolved to overthrow him and destroy 
them at one blow. A leader was found in that remarkable man, Kathaniel 
Bacon. Young, brave, eloquent, patriotic, full of enthusiasm and energy, 
he became the soul and life of the popular party. His own farm in the 
county of Henrico had been pillaged and his tenants murdered by the 
savages. Exasperated by these injuries, he was the more easily urged by 
the public voice to accept the dangerous office of leading an insurrection. 

Five hundred men rushed to arms and demanded to be led against 
the Indians. Alarm, excitement and passion prevailed throughout the 
colony. The patriot forces were organized ; and without permission of a 
government which they had ceased to regard, the march was begun into 
the enemy's country. Berkeley and the aristocratic faction were enraged 
at this proceeding, and proclaimed Bacon a traitor. A levy of troops was 
made for the purpose of dispersing the rel^ellious militia ; but scarcely had 
Berkeley and his forces left Jamestown when another popular uprising in 
the lower counties compelled him to return. Affairs were in an uproar. 
Bacon came home victorious. The old assembly was unceremoniously 
broken up, and a new one elected on the basis of universal suffi*age. 
Bacon was chosen a member for Henrico, and soon after elected com- 
mander-in-chiex of the Virginia army. The governor refused to sign his 
commission, and Bacon appealed to the people ; the militia again flew to 
arms, and Berkeley was compelled to yield. Not only was the com- 
mission signed, but a paper drawn up by the burgesses in commendation 
of Bacon's loyalty, zeal and patriotism received the executive signature 
and was transmitted to Parliament. 

Peace returned to the colony. The power of the savages was com- 
pletely broken. A military force was stationed on the frontier, and a 
sense of security returned to all the settlements. But Berkeley was petu- 
lant, proud and vengeful ; and it was only a question of time when the 
struggle would be renewed. Seizing the first opportunity, the governor 
left Jamestown and repaired to the county of Gloucester, on tlie north 
side of York River. Here he summoned a convention of loyalists, who, 
contrary to his expectations and wishes, advised moderation and com- 
promise; but the hot-headed old cavalier would yield no jot of his pre- 
rogative to what he was pleased to call a rabble, and Bacon was again 
proclaimed a traitor. 



VIRGINIA.— THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 121 

It was evident that there must be fighting. Berkeley and his 
forces left Gloucester, crossed the Chesapeake Bay, and took station on 
the eastern shore, in the county of Accomac. Here his troops were 
organized ; the crews of some English ships were joined to his command, 
and the fleet set sail for Jamestown. The place was taken without much 
resistance ; but when Bacon with a few companies of patriots drew near, 
the loyal forces deserted and went over to his standard. The governor 
with his adherents was again obliged to fly, and the capital remained in 
possession of the people's party. The assembly M-as about to assume con- 
trol of the government without the governor, whose flight to Accomac 
had been declared an abdication, when a rumor arose that an English fleet 
was approaching for the subjugation of the colonics. The patriot leaders 
held a council, and it was determined that Jamestown should be burned. 
Accordingly, in the dusk of the evening the torch was applied, and the 
only town in Virginia laid in ashes. The leading men set the example 
by throwing firebrands into their own houses ; others caught the spirit of 
sacrifice ; the flames shot up through the shadows of night ; and Governor 
Berkeley and his followers, on board a fleet twenty miles down the river, 
had tolerably fair warning that the capital of Virginia could not be used 
for the purposes of despotism. 

In this juncture of affairs Bacon fell sick and died. It was an 
event full of grief and disaster. The patriot party, discouraged by the 
loss of the heroic chieftain, Avas easily dispersed. A few feeble eflbrts 
were made to revive the cause of the people, but the animating spirit 
which had controlled and directed until now was gone. The royalists 
found an able leader in Robert Beverly, and the authority of the governor 
was rapidly restored throughout the province. The cause of the people 
and the leader of the people had died together. 

Berkeley's vindictive passions were now let loose upon the defeated 
insurgents. Fines and confiscations became the order of the day. The 
governor seemed determined to drown the memory of his own wrongs in 
the woes of his subjects. Twenty-two of the leading patriots were seized 
and hanged with scarcely time to bid their friends farewell. Thus died 
Thomas Hansford, the first American who gave his life for freedom. 
Thus perished Edmund Cheesman, Thomas Wilford and the noble Wil- 
liam Drummond, martyrs to liberty. Nor is it certain when the vengeful 
tyrant would have stayed his hand, had not the assembly met and passed 
an edict that no more blood should be spilt for past oflences. One of the 
burgesses from the county of Northampton said in the debate that if the 
governor were let alone he would hang half the country. When Charles 
II. heard of Berkeley's ferocity, he exclaimed, " The old fool has taken 



122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

away more lives in that naked country than I for the murder of my 
father " ; and the saying was true. 

The history of this insurrection was for a long time recited by 
Bacon's enemies. Until the present century no one appeared to rescue 
the leader's name from obloquy. In the light of after times his character 
wall shine with a peculiar lustre. His motives were as exalted as his life 
was pure, and his virtues as noted as his abilities were great. His ambi- 
tion was for the public welfare, and his passions were only excited against 
the enemies of his country. 

The consequences of the rebellion were very disastrous. Berkeley 
and the aristocratic party had now a good excuse for suppressing all liberal 
sentiments and tendencies. The printing-press was interdicted. Educa- 
tion Avas discouraged or forbidden. To speak or to WTite anything against 
the administration or in defence of the late insurrection was made a crime 
to be punished by fine or whipping. If the offence should be three times 
repeated, it was declared to be treason punishal^le with death. The former 
tyrannical methods of taxation were revived, and Virginia was left at the 
mercy of arbitrary rulers. 

In 1675, Lord Culpepper, to whom with Arlington the province 
had been granted two years previously, obtained the appointment of 
governor for life. The right of the king was thus by his own act relin- 
quished, and Virginia became a proprietary government. The new execu- 
tive arrived in 1680 and assumed the duties of his office. His whole 
administration was characterized by avarice and dishonesty. Regarding 
Virginia as his personal estate, he treated the Virginians as his tenants 
and slaves. Every species of extortion was resorted to, until the mutter- 
ings of rebellion were again heard throughout the impoverished colony. 
In 1683, Arlington surrendered his claim to Culpepper, who thus became 
sole proprietor as well as governor ; but before he could proceed to further 
mischief, his official career was cut short by the act of tlie king. Charles 
II., repenting of his own rashness, found in Culpepper's vices and frauds 
a sufficient excuse to remove him from office and to revoke his patent. 
In 1684, Virginia again became a royal province, under the government 
of Lord Howard, of Effingham, who was succeeded by Francis Nich- 
olson, formerly governor of New York. His administration was sig- 
nalized by the founding of William and Mary College, so named 
in honor of the new sovereigns of England. This, next to Harvard, 
was the first institution of liberal learning planted in America. Here 
the boy Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, shall be 
educated ! From these halls, in the famous summer of 1776, shall be 
sent forth young James Monroe, future President of the United States! 






% 



lOOO 



11. Gvistavus Adolplius the Great. 

Grotius. 
Galileo. IS. The Thirty Years' War begins. 

Kepler. 48. Peace of Westphalia. 

1^4-42. Richelieu. 43. Louis XIV. 



Shakespeare. 
Bacon. 



Milton. 

49. Cromwell. 



?. Pet€ 



85. Revocation 1 
87. Habeas c 

Locke, 

88. Secoii 

88. Willia 

of Mary, 94. W 



3. James VI 
James 



l\ 



25. Charles I. 



42. The Revolution. ^^- J}}^ Restoration. 

bO. Charles II. 85. James I 



7. 



9. Second Charter granted. 42. Berkeley's administration. 

12. The Third Charter. 44. Indian massacre. 76. Bacon's Rebellion. 

19. House of Burgesses established. 77. Virginia becomes 

VIKGINIA colonized by the London 51. First Navigation Act. 84. Royal gove 

Company at Jamestown. •: „_ „ ,. ^ ,^ 

83. Seth Sothe 

24. Dissolution of the 50.:N0RTH CAROLINA settled by the Englisi 

London Company. : 63. Grant made to Lord Clarendon. 

„ ^ ^ . : 85. Sir Johr 

19. Introduction of Slavery. : 65. Sir John Yeamans, governo 

John Smith, governor. : 77. Culpepper's rebe 

34. : MARYLAND settled by tU Catho- 91. Ma 

lies under Lord Baltimore. 75. Charles Calvert. 

39. Representative government established. 92. Li 



: 38. Governor Kief. 64. Taken by the English. 91. Sic 

14. : NEW YORE settled by the Dutch. Berkeley and Ciarteret. 92. 1 

: 47. Stuyvesant. 70. Lovelace. 9) 

56. New York City founded. 74. Edmur 
: 25. Minuits, governor. : 

38. Wilmington settled by the Swedes. 82.:DELAWAR 



23.: NEW JERSEY settled by the Dutch. 



81. First General J 



29. NEW HAMPSHIRE settled. 

27. Boston founded. 



30. : MAINE settled. 



80. : New Hampshire 9 

: as a distinct colony. 



76. King Philip's defea 



20. : MASSACHUSETTS settled by the Puritans at Plymouth. 
: 30. Winthrop, governor. 

: 38. Harvard College founded. 

39. First printing-press set up at Cambridge. 



84. Massachi 
90. First 
90. Kinj 

92. Witc 
exci 



36. : RHODE ISLAND settled by Roger Williams. 

: 39. Newport founded. 87. Rhode I 



30. 



37. Pequod War. 
CONNECTICUT granted to the earl of Warwick. 

35. Saybrook founded. 
33. Hartford founded. 62. New charter granted. 



89. The hi 



^i\n 



70. 




SOUTH CAROLINA 

Locke's Constitution ado] 
86. Arrival o:l 



82. 



PENNSY 

the Qua 

92. Peni 



1700 



the Great. 

;harles XII. 

►Var of the Spanish Succession. 

Leibnitz. 

13. Peace of Utrecht. 

Idict of Nantes. 

us- 15. Louis XV. 

levolutioi . 

md Mary, ;uid after the death 

lam III. 



2. Anne. 14. George I. 



George II. 



62. Catharine II. 

40. Frederick tlie Great. 

40. War of the Austrian Succession terminated 

by 46. Peace of Aix-ia-Chapelle. 89. French 

Revolution. 
93. Reign 

Voltaire. 74. Louis XVI. of Ter- 

ror. 
Dr. Johnson. Burke. 

65. The Rockingham Ministry. 

Cliatliam. Pi"- 

t)b. War between France and England- »^ox. 
&o. The Stamp Act. 
60. George III. 



Ne^vton. 



^'roprietary government, 
lent re-established. 



32. Birth of Washington. 65. The Virginia: Resolutions. 



governor. 

9. Arrival of the German immigrants. 

.rchdale, governor. 

11. The Coree War. 

a. '29. Final separation of the Carolinas. 



md becomes a royal government. 
el Copley. 



hter, governor. 

tcher. 1. Cornbury. 

lellamont. 

Lndros. 



44. Negro plot. 58. Fall of Louisburg. 
32. Cosby, governor. 65. Declaration: of Rights. 

54. French and Indian : War. 

Qo. First Colonial Congress assembles at New York. 



eparated from New York. 



Jnion of East and West Jersey, 
mblv. 



Dr. Beiijaniin : Franklin. 

33. Royal government established. : 



Jnited with Massachusetts. 41. : New Hanipsliire finally sepa- : 

20. Introduction of tea. : rated from Mass. 67." The tea tax. 



id death. 

4. First newspaper. 
ts loses her charter. 
le of paper money 
William's War. 
2. Queen Anne's War. 
aft 10. First post-office. 
ent. 



id joined to New York. 



g of the charter. 

. Yale College founded. 



61. Writs of Assist:ance. 

73. The Boston " Tea Party." 



44. King George's War. 

45. Iw^l Louisburg taken. 



75. 



Lexington. 



74. Boston Port Bill. 
. General Gage arrives in Boston. 



59. 



h%iQuebec 75. 
^ taken. 70. 



IJI Bunker Hill. 
■^""^ Tumult in Boston. 



ttled by the English. 

I. 2. Expedition against St. Augustine. 

e Huguenots. 29. Royal government established. 



ANIA settled by 
"s under Penn. 
368 his commission. 



Tr^ 76. Independence. 

55. [IlII Braddock's defeat. 

74. Second Congress assem- 
bles at Philadelphia. 



33. 



GEORGIA settled by the English 
under Oglethorpe, : 

52, Royal government established. 



MASSACHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 123 

After Nicholson's administration, Sir Edmund Andres, recently ex- 
pelled by the people of Massachusetts, assumed for a while the gov- 
ernment of Virginia. The aifairs of the colony during the next forty 
or fifty years arc not of sufficient interest and in:kpDTtance to require 
extended notice in an abridgment of American history. \^t the out- 
break of the French and Indian War, Virginia will show to the world 
that the labors of Smith, and Gosnold, and Bacon have not^beeu in 
vain. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MASS A CHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 



THE spring of 1621 brought a ray of hope to the distressed Pilgrims 
of New Plymouth. Never was the returning sun more welcome. 
The fatal winter had swept off one-half of the number. The son of the 
benevolent Carver was among the first victims of the terrible climate. 
The governor himself sickened and died, and the broken-hearted wife 
found rest in the same grave with her husband. But now, with the ap- 
proach of warm weather, the destroying pestilence was stayed, and the 
spirits of the survivors revived with the season. Out of the snows of 
winter, the desolations of disease^ and the terrors of death the faith of the 
Puritan had come forth triumphant. 

For a while the colonists were apprcliensive of the Indians. In 
February, Miles Standish was sent out with his soldiers to gather in- 
formation of the numbers and disposition of the r^atives. The army of 
New England consisted of six men besides the general. Deserted wig- 
wams were found here and there ; the smoke of camp-fires arose in the 
distance ; savages were occasionally seen in the forest. These fled, how- 
ever, at the approach of the English, and Standish returned to Plyiuouth. 
A month later the colonists were astonished by the sudden appear- 
ance in their midst of a Wampanoag Indian named Samosct. He ran 
into the village, offered his hand in token of friendship, and bade the 
strangers welcome. He gave an account of tho numbers and strength of 
the neighboring tribes, and recited the story of a great plague by which, 
a few years before, the country had been swept of its inhabitants. The 
present feebleness and desolate condition of the natives had resulted from 
the fatal malady. Another Indian, by the name of Squanto, who had 
been carried away by Hunt in 1614, and had learned to speak English, 
came also to Plymouth, and confirmed what Samoset had said. 



124 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



By the influence of these two natives friendly relations were at once 
established with the Wami3anoags. Massasoit, the great sachem of the 
nation, was invited to visit the settlement, and came attended by a few 
of his warriors. The Pilgrims received him with as much parade and 
ceremony as the colony could provide ; Captain Standish ordered out his 
soldiers, and Squanto acted as interpreter. Then and there was ratified 
the first treaty made in New England. The terms were few and simple. 
There should be peace and friendship between the whites and the red 
men. Ko injury should be done by either party to the other. All 
oifenders should be given up to be punished. If the English engaged in 




THE TKEATY BEIWEEN GOVEKNOU CARVER AND MASSASOIT. 

war, Massasoit should help them ; if the Wampanoags were attacked un- 
justly, the English should give aid against the common enemy. Mark 
that word unjustli/ : it contains the essence of Puritanism. 

The treaty thus made and ratified remained inviolate for fifty years. 
Other chiefs followed the example of the great sachem and entered into 
friendly relations with the colony. Nine of the leading tribes acknow- 
ledged the sovereignty of the English king. One chieftain threatened 
hostilities, but Standish's army obliged him to beg for mercy. Canonicus, 
king of the Narragansetts, sent to AVilliam Bradford, mIio had been chosen 
governor after the death of Carver, a bundle of arrows wrapped in the 
skin of a rattlesnake ; but the undaunted governor stuifed the skin with 



MASS A CHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 125 

powder and balls and sent it back to the chief, who did not dare to accept 
the dangerous challenge. The hostile emblem was borne about from tribe 
to tribe, until finally it was returned to Plymouth. 

The summer of 1621 was unfruitful, and the Pilgrims were brought 
to the point of starvation. To make their condition still more grievous, 
a new company of immigrants, without provisions or stores, arrived, and 
were quartered on the colonists during the fall and winter. For six 
months together the settlers were obliged to subsist on half allowance. 
At one time only a few grains of parched corn remained to be distributed, 
and at another there was absolute destitution. In this state of affairs some 
English fishing-vessels came to Plymouth and charged the starving colo- 
nists two prices for food enough to keep them alive. 

The intruding immigrants just mentioned had been sent to America 
by Thomas Weston, of London, one of the projectors of the colony. They 
remained with the people of Plymouth until the summer of 1622, then 
removed to the south side of Boston Harbor and began a new settlement 
called Weymouth. Instead of working with their might to provide 
against starvation, they wasted the iall in idleness, and attempted to keep 
up their stock of provisions by defrauding the Indians. Thus provoked 
to hostility, the natives formed a plan to destroy the colony ; but Massa- 
soit, faithful to his pledges, went to Plymouth and revealed the plot. 
Standish marched to Weymouth at the head of his regiment, now in- 
creased to eight men, attacked the hostile tribe, killed several warriors 
and carried home the chief's head on a pole. The tender-hearted John 
Robinson ■\^Tote from Ley den : "I would that you had converted some 
of them before you killed any." 

In the following spring most of the Weymouth settlers abandoned 
the place and returned to England. The summer of 1623 brought a 
plentiful harvest to the people of the older colony, and there was no 
longer any danger of starvation. TI.3 natives, preferring the chase, be- 
came dependent on the settlement for corn, and furnished in exchange an 
abundance of game. The main body of Pilgrims still tarried at Leyden. 
Kobinson made unwearied efforts to bring his people to America, but the 
adventurers of London who had managed the enterprise would provide 
no further means either of money or transportation ; and now, at the end 
of the fourth year, there were only a hundred and eighty persons in New 
England. The managers had expected profitable returns, and were dis- 
appointed. They had expended thirty-four thousand dollars; there 
was neither profit nor the hope of any. Under this discouragement the 
proprietors made a proposition to sell out their claims to the colonists. 
The offer was accepted; and in November of 1627 eight of the leading 



126 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

men of Plymouth purchased from the Londoners their entire interest for 
the sum of nine thousand dollars. 

Before this transfer of right was made the colony had been much 
vexed by the efforts of the managers to thrust on them a minister of the 
Established Church. Was it not to avoid this very thing that they had 
come to the wilds of the New World ? Should the tyranny of the prelates 
follow them even across the sea and into the wilderness ? There was dis- 
sension and strife for a while ; the English managers withheld support ; 
oppression was resorted to; the stores intended for the colonists were 
sold to them at three prices ; and they were obliged to borrow money at 
sixty per cent. But no exactions could break the spirit of tlie Pilgrims ; 
and the conflict ended with the purchase of Avhatever rights the London 
proprietors had in the colony. 

The year 1624 was marked by the founding of a settlement at 
Cape Ann. John White, a Puritan minister of Dorchester, England, 
collected a small company of emigrants and sent them to America. The 
colony w^as established, but after two years of discouragement the cape 
was abandoned as a place unsuitable, and the company moved farther 
south to Naumkeag, afterward called Salem. Here a settlement w^as 
begun, and in 1628 was made permanent by the arrival of a second colony, 
in charge of John Endicott, who was chosen governor. In March of the 
same year the colonists obtained a patent from the Council of Plymouth ; 
and in 1629 Charles I. issued a charter by which the proprietors were 
incorporated under the name of The Governor and Company of 
Massachusetts Bay in New England. In July two hundred ad- 
ditional immigrants arrived, half of whom settled at Plymouth, while the 
other half removed to a peninsula on the north side of Boston Harbor 
and laid the foundation of Charlestown. 

At the first it had been decided that the charter of the colony 
should be left in England, and that the governor should reside there also. 
After further discussion, this decision was reversed, and in September it 
was decreed that the whole government should be transferred to America, 
and that the charter, as a pledge of liberty, should be entrusted to the 
colonists themselves. As soon as this liberal action was made known 
emigration began on an extensive scale. In the year 1630 about three 
hundred of the best Puritan families in the kingdom came to New Eng- 
land. Not adventurers, not vagabonds, were these brave people, but vir- 
tuous, well-educated, courageous men and women who for conscience' 
sake left comfortable homes with no expectation of returning. It was not 
the least of their good fortune to choose a noble leader. 

If ever a man was worthy to be held in perpetual remembrance. 



3IASSA CHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 



127 



that man was John Winthrop, governor of Massachusetts. Born a royalist, 
he cherished the principles of republicanism. Himself an Episcopahan, 
he chose affliction 
with the Puritans. 
Surrounded with 
affluence and com- 
fort, he left all to 
share the destiny 
of the persecuted 
Pilgrims. Calm, 
prudent and peace- 
able, he joined the 
zeal of an enthusi- 
ast with the sub- 
lime faith of a 
martyr. 

A part of 
the new immi- 
grants settled at 
Salem ; others at 
Cambridge and 
Watertown, on 
Charles River; 
while others, going 
farther south, 
founded Poxbury and Dorchester. The governor, with a few of the 
leading families, resided for a while at Charlestown, but soon crossed 
the harbor to the peninsula of Shawmut and laid the foundation of Bos- 
ton, which became henceforth the capital of the colony and the metropolis 
of New England. With the approach of winter sickness came, and the 
distress was very great. Many of the new-comers were refined and ten- 
der people who could not endure the bitter blasts of Massachusetts Bay. 
Coarse fare and scanty provisions added to the griefs of disease. Sleet 
and snow drifted through the cracks of the thin board huts where en- 
feebled men and delicate women moaned out their lives. Before mid- 
winter two hundred had perished. A few others, heartsick and despair- 
ing, returned to England ; but there was heard neither murmur nor 
repining. Governor Winthrop wrote to his wife : " I like so well to be 
here that I do not repent my coming." 

At a session of the general court of the colony, held in 1631, a law 
was passed restricting the right of suffrage. It was enacted that none but 




JOHN WINTHROP. 



128 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

members of the church should be permitted to vote at the colonial elec- 
tions. The choice of governor, deputy-governor and assistant councilors 
was thus placed in the hands of a small minority. Nearly three-fourths 
of the people were excluded from exercising the rights of freemen. Taxes 
were levied for the support of the gospel ; oaths of obedience to the magis- 
trates were required ; attendance on public worship was enforced by law ; 
none but church-members were eligible to offices of trust. It is strange 
indeed that the very men who had so recently, through perils by sea and 
land, escaped with only their lives to find religious freedom in another 
continent, should have begun their career with intolerance and proscrip- 
tion. The only excuse that can be found for the gross inconsistency and 
injustice of such legislation is that bigotry was the vice of the age rather 
than of the Puritans. 

One manly voice was lifted up against this odious statute. It was 
the voice of young Eoger Williams, minister of Salem. To this man 
belongs the shining honor of being first in America or in Europe to pro- 
claim the full gospel of religious toleration. He declared to his people 
that the conscience of man may in no wise be bound by the authority of 
the magistrate ; that civil government has only to do with civil matters, 
such as the collection of taxes, the restraint and punishment of crime, 
and the protection of all men in the enjoyment of equal rights. For 
these noble utterances he was obliged to quit the ministry of the church 
at Salem and retire to Plymouth. Finally, in 1634, he wrote a paper in 
which the declaration was made that grants of land, though given by the 
king of England, were invalid until the natives were justly recompensed. 
This was equivalent to saying that the colonial charter itself was void, and 
that the people were really living upon the lands of the Indians. Great 
excitement was occasioned by the publication, and Williams consented 
that for the sake of public peace the paper should be burned. But he 
continued to teach his doctrines, saying that compulsory attendance at re- 
ligious worship, as well as taxation for the support of the ministry, was 
contrary to the teachings of the gospel. When arraigned for these bad 
doctrines, he crowned his oifences by telling the court that a test of 
church-membership in a voter or a public officer was as ridiculous as the 
selection of a doctor of physic or the pilot of a ship on account of his skill 
in theology. 

These assertions raised such a storm in court that Williams was 
condemned for heresy and banished from the colony. In the dead of 
winter he left home and became an exile in the desolate forest. For four- 
teen Aveeks he wandered on through the snow, sleeping at night on the 
ground or in a hollow tree, living on parched corn, acorns and roots. He 



MASS A CHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 



129 



carried with him one precious treasure — a private letter from Governor 
Winthrop, giving him words of cheer and encouragement. Nor did the 
Indians fail to show their gratitude to the man who had so nobly de- 
fended their rights. In the country of the Wampanoags he was kindly 
entertained. Massasoit invited him to his cabin at Pokanoket, and 




BOGEK WILLIAMS' KECEPTION BY THE INDIANS. 

Canonicus, king of the Narragansetts, received him as a friend and 
brother. On the left bank of Blackstone River, near the head of Narra- 
gansett Bay, a resting-place was at last found ; the exile pitched his tent, 
and with the opening of spring planted a field and built the first house in 
the village of Seekonk. Soon the information came that he was still 
within the territory of Plymouth colony, and another removal became 
necessary. With five companions who had joined him in banishment, 
he embarked in a canoe, passed down the river and crossed to the west 
side of the bay. Here he was safe ; his enemies could hunt him no 
farther. A tract of land was honorably purchased from Canonicus ; and 
in June of 1636, the illustrious founder of Phode Island laid out the city 
of Providence. 

Meanwhile, his teachings were bearing fruit in Massachusetts. In 
1634 a representative form of government was established against the 
opposition of the clergy. On election-day the voters, now numbering 
between three and four hundred, were called together, and the learned 



130 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Cotton jpreached powerfully and long against the proposed change. The 
assembly listened attentively, and then went on with the election. To 
make the reform complete, a ballot-box was substituted for the old 
method of jinblic voting. The restriction on the right of suffrage was 
the only remaining bar to a perfect system of self-government in New 
England. 

During the next year three thousand new immigrants arrived. It 
was worth while — so thought the people of England — to come to a country 
where the principles of freedom were spreading with such rapidity. The 
new-comers were under the leadership of Hugh Peters and Sir Henry 
Vane ; the former the Puritan pastor of some English exiles at Rotter- 
dam, in Holland, and the latter a young nobleman who afterward played 
an important part in the history of England. Such was his popularity 
with the peoj^le of Massachusetts, and such his zeal and piety, that in less 
than a year after his arrival he was chosen governor of the colony. 

By this time the settlements around Massachusetts Bay were 
thickly clustered. Until new homes should be found there was no room 
for the immigrants who were constantly coming. To enlarge the frontier, 
to plunge into the wilderness and find new places of abode, became a 
necessity. One little company of twelve families, led by Simon Willard 
and Peter Bulkeley, marched through the woods until they came to some 
open meadows sixteen miles from Boston, and there laid the foundations 
of Concord. A little later in the same year, another colony of sixty per- 
sons left the older settlements and pressed their way westward as flir as 
the Connecticut River. The march itself was a grievous hardship, but 
greater toils and sufferings were in store for the adventurous company. 
A dreadful winter overtook them in their new homes but half provided. 
Some died ; others, disheartened, waded back through the dreary untrod- 
den snows and came half famished to Plymouth and Boston; but the 
rest, with true Puritan heroism, outbraved the winter and triumphed over 
the pangs of starvation. Spring brought a recompense for hardsliip : the 
heroic pioneers crept out of their miserable huts to become the founders 
of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, the oldest towns in the Con- 
necticut valley. 

The banishment of Roger Williams, instead of bringing peace, 
brought strife and dissension to the people of Massachusetts. The minis- 
ters were stern and exacting. Every shade of popular belief was closely 
scrutinized ; the slightest departure from orthodox doctrines Avas met 
Avith a charge of h.eresy, and to be a heretic was to become an outcast. 
Still, the advocates of free opinion multiplied. Tlie clergy, notwithstand- 
ing their great influence among the people, felt insecure. Religious de- 



MASSACHUSETTS.— SETTLEMENT. 



131 




MAP OF EAKLY SETTLEMENTS IN NEW ENGLAND. 

bates became the order of the day. Every sermon had to pass the ordeal 
of review and criticism. 

Most prominent among those who were said to be "as bad as 
Roger Williams, or worse," was Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, a woman of 
genius who had come over in the ship with Sir Henry Vane. She de- 
sired the privilege of speaking at the weekly debates, and was refused. 
Women had no business at these assemblies, said the elders. Indignant 
at this, she became the champion of her sex, and declared that the minis- 
ters who were defrauding women of the gospel were no better than Phari- 
sees. She called meetings of her friends, spoke much in public, and 
pleaded with great fervor for the full freedom of conscience. The liberal 
doctrines of the exiled Williams were reaffirmed with more power and 
eloquence than ever. Many of the magistrates were converted to the new 
beliefs ; the governor himself espoused the cause of Mrs. Hutchinson ; 
and a majority of the people of Boston inclined to her opinions. 

For a while there was a reign of discord ; but as soon as Sir 
Henry^s term of office ex])ired a call was issued for a meeting of the 
synod of New England. The body convened in August of 1637 ; a 



132 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. . 

decree was proposed; Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends were declared 
unfit for the society of Christians, and banished from the territory of 
Massachusetts. With a large number of friends the exiles wended their 
way toward the home of Roger Williams. Miantonomoh, a Narragansett 
chieftain, made them a gift of the beautiful island of Rhode Island; 
there, in the month of March, 1641, a little republic was established, in 
whose constitution freedom of conscience was guaranteed and persecution 
for opinion's sake forbidden. 

The year 1636 was an important epoch in the history of Massa- 
chusetts. The general court of the colony passed an act appropriating 
between one and two thousand dollars to found and endow a college. 
The measure met with popular favor; the Puritans were an educated 
people, and were quick to appreciate the advantages of learning. New- 
town was selected as the site of the proposed school. Plymouth and 
Salem gave gifts to help the enterprise ; and from villages in the Con- 
necticut valley came contributions of corn and wampum. In 1638, John 
Harvard, a young minister of Charlestown, died, bequeathing his library 
and nearly five thousand dollars to the school. To perpetuate the memory 
of the noble benefactor the new institution was named Harvard Col- 
lege ; and in honor of the place where the leading men of Massachusetts 
had been educated, the name of Ne^vtown Avas changed to Cambridge. 
Tlins early did the people of New England stamp their approval on the 
cause of education. In spite of sterile soil and desolate landscapes — 
in spite of destroying climate and wasting diseases — in spite even of 
superstition and bigotry — the people who educate will ever be great 
and free. 

The PRINTING-PRESS Came also. In 1638, Stephen Daye, an 
English printer, arrived at Boston, bringing a font of types, and in the 
following year set up a press at Cambridge. The fii'st American publica- 
tion was an almanac calculated for New Eno-land, and bearing; date of 
1639. During the next year, Thomas Welde and John Eliot, two minis- 
ters of Roxbury, and Richard Mather, of Dorchester, translated the 
Hebrew Psalms into English verse, and jjublished their rude work in 
a volume of three hundred pages — the first book printed on this side 
of the Atlantic. 

The rapid gro^vth of Massachusetts now became a source of alarm 
to the English government. Those liberal principles of religion and 
politics which were openly avowed and gloried in by the citizens of the 
new commonwealth were hateful to Charles I. and his ministers. The 
archbishop of Canterbury was much offended. Something must be 
done to check the further growth of the Puritan colonies. The first 



MASSACHUSETTS.— THE UNION. 133 

measure which suggested itself was to stop emigration. For this purpose 
an edict was issued as early as 1634, but was of no effect. The officers 
of the government neglected to enforce the law. Four years later, more 
vigorous measures were adopted. A squadron of eight vessels, ready to 
sail from London, was detained by the royal authority. Many of the 
most prominent Puritan families in England were on board of these 
ships. Historians of high rank have asserted — but without sufficient 
proof — that John Hampden and Oliver Cromwell were of the number 
who were turned back by the detention. At all events, it would have 
been the part of wisdom in King Charles to allow all Puritans to leave 
his realm as fast as possible. By detaining them in England he only 
made sure the Revolution, and by so much hastened his own downfall. 



CHAPTER XIY. 

31 ASS A CHUSETTS.— THE UNION. 



"VTEW ENGLAND was fast becoming a nation. Wellnigh fifty towns 
-^ and villages dotted the face of the country. Nearly a million of 
dollars had been spent in settling and developing the new State. Enter- 
prises of all kinds were rife. Manufactures, commerce and the arts were 
rapidly introduced. William Stephens, a shipbuilder who came with 
Governor Winthrop to Boston, had already built and launched an Ameri- 
can vessel of four hundred tons burden. Before 1640, two hundred and 
ninety-eight emigrant ships had anchored in Massachusetts Bay. Twenty- 
one thousand two hundred people, escaping from English intolerance of 
Church or State, had found home and rest between Plymouth Rock and 
the Connecticut valley. It is not wonderful that the colonists began to 
cast about them for better political organization and more ample forms 
of government. 

Many circumstances impelled the colonies to union. First of all, 
there was the natural desire of men to have a regular and permanent 
government. England, torn and distracted with civil war, could do 
nothing for or against her colonies ; they must take care of themselves. 
Here was the western frontier exposed to the hostilities of the Dutch 
towns on the Hudson; Connecticut alone could not defend herself. 
Similar trouble was apprehended from the French on the north; the 



134 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

English settlements on the Piscataqua were weak and defenceless. In- 
dian tribes capable of mustering a thousand warriors were likely at any 
hour to fall upon remote and helpless villages ; the prevalence of common 
interests and the necessities of common defence made a union of some sort 
indispensable. 

The first effort to consolidate the colonies was ineffectual. Two 
years later, in 1639, the j^roject was renewed, but without success. 
Again, in 1G43, a measure of union was brought forward and finally 
adopted. By the terms of this compact, Massachusetts, Plymouth, Con- 
necticut and New Haven were joined in a loose confederacy, called The 
United Colonies of New England. The chief authority was con- 
ferred upon a general assembly, or congress, composed of two representa- 
tives from each colony. These delegates M'ere chosen annually at an 
election where all the freemen voted by ballot. There was no president 
other than the speaker of the assembly, and he had no executive powers. 
Each community retained, as before, its separate local existence ; and all 
subordinate questions of legislation were reserved to the respective colo- 
nies. Only matters of general interest — such as Indian affairs, the levy- 
ing of troops, the raising of revenues, declarations of war and treaties of 
peace — were submitted to the assembly. 

Provision was made for the admission of other colonies into the 
union, but none were ever admitted. The English settlement on the 
Piscataqua was rejected because of heterodoxy in religion. The Provi- 
dence Plantations were refused for similar reasons. Should Roarer Wil- 
liams return to plague an assembly where an approved church-member- 
ship was the sole qualification for office? The little island of Rhode 
Island, with its Jewish republic, also knocked for admission ; Anne 
Hutchinson's common\vealth was informed that Plymouth colony had 
rightful jurisdiction there, and that heresy was a bar to all petitions. 

Until the year 1641 the people of Massachusetts had had no regular 
code of laws. At a meeting of the assembly in December of this year, 
Nathaniel Ward brought forward a written instrument which, after ma- 
ture deliberation, was adopted as the constitution of the State. This 
fundamental statute was called the Body of Liberties, and was ever 
afterward esteemed as the great charter of colonial freedom. It may be 
doubted whether any other primitive constitution, either ancient or 
modern, contains more wisdom than this early code of ]\Iassachusetts. 

A further modification in the government was effected in 1644. 
Until this time the representatives of the people had sat and voted in the 
same hall with the governor and his assistant magistrates. It was now 
decreed that the two bodies should sit apart, each with its own officers 



MASSACHUSETTS.— THE UNION. 135 

and under its OAvn management. By this measure the people's branch of 
the legislature was made independent and of equal authority "with tjie 
governor's council. Thus step by step were the safeguards of liberty 
established and regular forms of government secured. 

The people of Massachusetts were little grieved on account of the 
English Revolution. It was for them a vindication and a victory. The 
triumph of Parliament over King Charles was tlie triumph of Puritanism 
both in England and America. Massachusetts had no cause to fear so 
long as the House of Commons was crowded with her friends and patrons. 
But in the hour of victory the American Puritans showed themselves 
more magnanimous than those of the mother-country ; when Charles L, 
the enemy of all colonial liberties, was brought to the block, the people 
of New England, whose fathers had been exiled by his father, lamented 
his tragic fate and preserved the memory of his virtues. 

During the supremacy of the Long Parliament several acts were 
passed Avhicli put in peril the interests of Massachusetts, but by a prudent 
and far-sighted policy all evil results were avoided. Powerful friends, 
especially Sir Henry Vane, stood uj) in Parliament and defended the 
colony against the intrigues of her enemies. Ambassadors, men of age 
and experience, went often to London to plead for colonial rights. Soon 
after the abolition of monarchy a statute was made which threatened for 
a while the complete subversion of the new State. Massachusetts was in- 
vited to surrender her charter, to receive a new instrument instead, and 
to hold courts and issue writs in the name of Parliament. The measure 
seemed foir enough, but the people of New England were too cautious to 
stake their all on the fate of a Parliament whose power was already 
waning. The requisition was never complied with. Cromwell did not 
insist on the surrender ; no one else had power to enforce the act ; and 
Massachusetts retained her charter. 

The Protector Avas the constant friend of the American colonies. 
Even Virginia, though slighting his authority, found him just as well as 
severe. The people of New England were his special favorites. To them 
he was bound by every tie of political and religious sympathy. For more 
than ten years, when he might have been an oppressor, he continued the 
benefactor, of the English in America. During his administration the 
northern colonics were left in the full enjoyment of their coveted rights. 
In commerce, in the industrj^ of private life, and especially in religion, 
the people of Massachusetts were as free as the people of England. 

In the year 1652, it was decreed by the general court at Boston 
that the jurisdiction of the province extended as far north as three miles 
above the most northerly waters of the river Merrimac. This declaration, 



136 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

which was in strict accordance with the charter of the colony, was made 
for the purpose of annexing Maine to Massachusetts. By this measure 
the territory of the latter State was extended to Casco Bay. Settlements 
had been made on the Piscataqua as early as 1626, but had not flourished. 
Thirteen years later a royal charter was issued to Sir Ferdinand Gorges, 
a member of the Council of Plymouth, who became proprietor of the 
province. His cousin, Thomas Gorges, was made deputy-governor. A 
high-sounding constitution, big enough for an empire, was dra-svn up, and 
the little village of Gorgeana, afterward York, became the capital of the 
kingdom. Meanwhile, in 1630, the Plymouth Council had granted to 
another corporation sixteen hundred square miles of the territory around 
Casco Bay, and this claim had been purchased b}^ Rigby, a republican 
member of Parliament. Between his deputies and those of Gorges violent 
disputes arose. The villagers of Maine, sympathizing with neither party, 
and emulous of the growth and prosperity of the southern colonies, laid 
their grievances before the court at Boston, and the annexation of the 
province followed. 

In July of 1656, the Quakers began to arrive at Boston. The 
first who came were Ann Austin and Mary Fisher. The introduction of 
the plague would have occasioned less alarm. The two women were caught 
and searched for marks of witchcraft, their trunks were broken open, 
their books were burned by the hangman, and they themselves thrown 
into prison. After several weeks' confinement they were brought forth 
and banished from the colony. Before the end of the year eight others 
had been arrested and sent back to England. The delegates of the union 
were immediately convened, and a rigorous law was passed, excluding all 
Quakers from the country. Whipping, the loss of one ear and banish- 
ment were the penalties for the first offence ; after a second conviction the 
other ear should be cut off; and should the criminal again return, his 
tongue should be bored through with a red-hot iron. 

In 1657, Ann Burden, who had come from London to preach 
against persecution, was seized and beaten with twenty strijaes. Others 
came, were whipped and exiled. As the law became more cruel and 
proscriptive, fresh victims rushed forward to brave its terrors. The 
assembly of the four colonies again convened, and advised the authorities 
of Massachusetts to pronounce the penalty of death against the fanatical 
disturbers of the public peace. When the resolutions embodying this ad- 
vice was put before the assembly, to his everlasting honor, the younger 
Winthrop, delegate from Connecticut, voted No! Massachusetts ac- 
cepted the views of the greater number, and the death-penalty was passed 
by a majority of one vote. 



MASSACHUSETTS.— THE UNION. 137 

In September of 1659, four persons were arrested and brought to 
trial under this law. The prisoners were given the option of going into 
exile or of being hanged. Two of them (^lary Dyar and Nicholas Davis) 
chose banishment ; but the other two (jSIarmaduke Stephenson and AVil- 
liam Robinson) stood firm, denounced the wickedness of the court, and 
were sentenced to death. INIary Dyar, in whom the love of martyrdom 
had triumphed over fear, now returned, and was also condemned. On 
the 27tli of October the three were led forth to execution. The men 
were hanged without mercy ; and the woman, after the rope had been 
adjusted to her neck, was reprieved only to be banished. She was con- 
veyed beyond the limits of the colony, but immediately returned and was 
executed. William Leddra was next seized, tried and sentenced. As in 
the case of the others, he was oifered perpetual exile instead of death. 
He refused, and was hanged. 

Before the trial of Leddra was concluded, "Wenlock Christison, 
who had already been banished, rushed into the court-room and began to 
upbraid the judges for shedding the blood of the innocent. When put on 
his second trial, he spoke boldly in his own defence ; but the jury brought 
in a verdict of guilty, and he was condemned to die. Others, eager for 
the honor of martyrdom, came forward in crowds, and the jails were filled 
with voluntary prisoners. But before the day arrived for Christison's exe- 
cution, the public conscience was aroused; the law was repealed, the prison- 
doors were opened, and Christison, with twenty-seven companions, came 
forth free. The bloody reign of proscription had ended, but not until four 
innocent enthusiasts had given their lives for liberty of conscience. 

But let a veil be drawn over this sorrowful event. The history of 
all times is full of scenes of violence and wrong. It could not be ex- 
pected that an American colony, founded by exiles, pursued with malice 
and beset with dangers, should be Mholly exempt from the shame of evil 
deeds. The Puritans established a religious rather than a civil common- 
wealth ; whatever put the faith of the people in peril seemed to them 
more to be dreaded than pestilence or death. To ward off heresy, even 
by destroying the heretic, seemed only a natural self-defence. A nobler 
lesson has been learned in the light of better times. 

The English Revolution had now run its course. Cromwell Avas 
dead. The Commonwealth tottered and fell. Charles II. was restored to 
the throne of his ancestors. Tidings of the Restoration reached Boston 
on the 27th of July, 1660. In the same vessel that bore the news came 
Edward Whalley and William Goffe, two of the judges who had passed 
sentence of death on Charles I. It was now their turn to save their lives 
by flight. Governor Endicott received them with courtesy ; the agents 



138 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

from the British government came in hot pursuit with orders to arrest 
them. For a while the fugitives, aided by the people of Boston, baffled . 
the officers, and then escaped to New Haven. Here for many weeks 
they lay in concealment ; not even the Indians would accept the reward 
which was offered for their apprehension. At last the exiles reached the 
valley of the Connecticut and found refuge at the village of Hadley, 
where they passed the remainder of their lives. It was in October of this 
same fatal year that Hugh Peters, the old friend of the colony, the father- 
in-law of the younger Winthrop, was hanged at London. The noble Sir 
Henry Vane Mas hunted down in Holland, surrendered to the English 
government, condemned and beheaded. 

Owing to the partiality of Cromwell, the restrictions on colonial 
commerce which bore so heavily on Virginia were scarcely felt by ]\Iassa- 
chusetts. On the restoration of monarchy a severer policy was at once 
adopted. All vessels not bearing the English flag were forbidden to 
enter the harbors of New England. A law of exportation was enacted 
by which all articles produced in the colonies and demanded in England 
should be shipped to England only. Such articles of American produc- 
tion as the English merchants did not desire might be sold in any of the 
ports of Euroi:)e. The law of importation Avas equally odious; such 
articles as were produced in England should not be manufactured in 
America, and should be bought from England only. Free trade between 
the colonies Avas forbidden ; and a duty of five per cent., levied for the 
benefit of the English king, was put on both exports and imports. 
Human ingenuity could hardly have invented a set of measures better 
calculated to produce an American Hevolution. 

In 1664, war broke out between England and Holland. It became 
a part of the English military plans to reduce the Dutch settlements on 
the Hudson ; and for this purpose a fleet was sent to America. But there 
was another purpose also. Charles II. was anxious to obtain control of 
the New England colonies, that he might govern them according to the 
principles of arbitrary power. The chief obstacle to this undertaking 
was the charter of INIassachusetts — an instrument given under the great 
seal of England, and not easily revoked. To accomplish the same end by 
other means was now the object of the king ; and with this end in view 
four commissioners were appointed with instructions to go to America, to 
sit in judgment upon all matters of complaint that might arise in New 
England, to settle colonial disputes, and to take such other measures as 
might seem most likely to establish peace and good order in the country. 
The royal commissioners embarked in the British fleet, and in July ar- 
riv^ed at Boston. 



MASSACHUSETTS.— KING PHILIP'S WAR. 139 

They were not wanted at Boston. The people of Massachusetts 
knew very well that the establishment of this supreme judgeship in their 
midst was a flagrant violation of their chartered right of self-government. 
Before the commissioners landed the patent was put into the hands of a 
committee for safe keeping. A decree of the general court forbade the 
citizens to answer any summons issued by the royal judges. A powerful 
letter, fall of loyalty and manly protests, was sent directly to the king. 
The commissioners became disgusted with the treatment Avhich they re- 
ceived at the hands of the refractory colony, and repaired to INIaine and 
JS^ew Hampshire. Here they were met with some marks of favor; but 
their official acts were disregarded and soon forgotten. In Bhode Island 
the judges were received with great respect, and their decisions accepted 
as the decisions of the king. The towns of Connecticut were next 
visited ; but the people were cold and indifferent, and the commissioners 
retired. Meanwhile, the English monarch, learning how his grand judges 
had been treated, sent a message of recall, and before the end of the year 
they gladly left the country. After a gallant fight, INIassachusetts had 
preserved her liberties. Left in the peaceable enjoyment of her civil 
rights, she entered upon a new career of prosperity which, for a j)eriod 
of ten years, was marked with no calamity. 



CHAPTER XV. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— KING PHILIP'S WAR. 

MASSASOIT, the old sachem of the Wampanoags, died in 1662. For 
forty-one years he had faithfully kept the treaty made by himself 
with the first settlers at Plymouth. His elder son, Alexander, now be- 
came chief of the nation, but died within the year; and the chieftainship 
descended to the younger brother, Philip of Mount Hope. It was 
the fate of this brave and able man to lead his people in a final and hope- 
less struggle against the supremacy of the whites. Causes of war had 
existed for many years, and the time had come for the conflict. 

The unwary natives of New England had sold their lands. The 
English were the purchasers ; the chiefs had signed the deeds ; the price 
had been fairly paid. Year by year the territory of the tribes had nar- 
rowed ; the old men died, but the deeds remained and the lands could 
not be recovered. There were at this time in the countrv east of the 



140 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Hudson not more than twenty-five thousand Indians; the English had 
increased to fully twice that number. A new generation had arisen who 
could not understand the validity of the old titles. The young warriors 
sighed for the freedom of their fathers' hunting-grounds. They looked 
with ever-increasing jealousy on the groM^th of English villages and the 
spread of English farms. The ring of the foreigner's axe had scared the 
game out of the forest, and the foreigner's net had scooped the fishes from 
the red man's river. Of all their ancient domain, the Wampanoags had 
nothing left but the two narrow pei.insulas of Bristol and Tiverton, on 
the eastern coast of Narragansett Bay. 

There were personal grievances also. While Alexander lived he 
had been arrested, tried by an English jury and imprisoned. He had 
caught his death-fever in a Boston jail. Another chieftain was appre- 
hended in a similar way ; and then the Indian witness who appeared at 
the trial was murdered for giving testimony. The perpetrators of this 
crime were seized by the English, convicted and hanged. Perhaps King 
Philip, if left to himself, would have still sought peace. He was not a 
rash man, and clearly foresaw the inevitable issue of the struggle. He 
hesitated, and was affected with great grief when the news came that an 
Englishman had been killed. But the young men of the tribe were 
thirsting for bloody revenge, and could no longer be restrained. The 
women and childi'en were hastily sent across the bay and put under the 
__ _ protection of Canonchet, king of the 

Narragansetts. On the 24th of June, 







1675, the village of Swanzey was 
attacked ; eight Englishmen Avere 
killed ; and the alarm of war sound- 
ed through the colonies. 

4. Within a week the militia of 
Plymouth, joined by volunteer com- 
panies from Boston, entered the 
enemy's country. A few Indians 
were overtaken and killed. The 
troops marched into the peninsula 
of Bristol, reached Mount Hope, 
and compelled Philip to fly for his 
life. With a band of fugitives 
numbering five or six hundred, he 
escaped to Tiverton, on the eastern side of the bay. Here, a few days 
afterward, they were attacked ; but lying concealed in a swamp, they beat 
back their assailants with considerable loss. The place was then sur- 



FIKST SCENE OF KING PHILIP'S WAR. 



MASSACHUSETTS.— KING PHILIP'S WAR. 



141 



rounded and besieged for two weeks; but Philip and his men, when 
brought to the point of starvation, managed to escape in the night, crossed 
the bay and fled to the country of the Nipmucks, in Central ISIassa- 
chusetts. Here the king and his warriors became the heralds of a general 
The slumbering hatred of the savages was easily kindled into open 



war 



hostility. For a whole year the scattered settlements of the frontier be- 
came a scene of burning, massacre and desolation. 

After Philip's flight from Tiverton, the English forces marched 
into the country of tlie Narragansetts. Here the women and children of 
the Wampanoags had been received and sheltered. The wavering Canon- 
chet was given his choice of peace or war. He co.wered before the Eng- 
lish muskets and signed a treaty, agreeing that his nation should observe 
neutrality and deliver up all fugitives from the hostile tribe. Still, it 
was only a question of time when the Narragansetts would break their 
covenant and espouse the cause of Philip. 

The war was now transferred to the Connecticut valley. It had 
been hoped that the Nipmucks would remain loyal to the English ; but 
the influence of the exiled chieftain prevailed with them to take up arms. 
As usual with savages, treachery was added to hos- 
tility. Captains Wheeler and Hutchinson, with a 
company of twenty men, were sent to Brookfield to 
hold a conference with ambassadors from the Nip- 
muck nation. Instead of preparing for the council, 
the Indians laid an ambush near the village, and 
"\vhen the English were well surrounded, fired upon 
them, killing nearly the whole company. A few 
survivors, escajsing to the settlement, gave the alarm, 
and the people fled to their block-house just in 
time to save their lives. 

For two days the place was assailed with every 
missile that savage ingenuity could invent. Finally, 
the house was fired with burning arrows, and the 
destruction of all seemed certain ; but just as the roof 

began to blaze, the friendly clouds poured down a shower of rain, and 
the flames were extinguished. Then came reinforcements from Spring- 
field, and the Indians fled. The people of Brookfield now abandoned 
their homes and sought refuge in the towns along the river. On the 
26th of August, a battle was fought in the outskirts of Deerfield. The 
M-hitcs were successful ; but a few days afterward the savages succeeded 
in firing the village, and the greater part of it was burned to the ground. 
A storehouse containing the recently-gathered harvests was saved, and 




SECOND SCENE OF 
KING PHILIP'S WAE. 



142 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Captain liathrop, with a company of eighty picked men, undertook the 
dangerous task of removing the stores to Hadley. A train of wagons, 
loaded with wheat and corn and guarded by the soldiers, left Deerfield on 
the 18th of September, and had proceeded five miles, when they were 
suddenly surrounded by eight hundred Indians who lay in ambusli at 
the ford of a small creek. The whites fought desperately, and were 
killed almost to a man. Meanwhile, Captain Mosely, at the liead of 
seventy militia, arrived, and the battle continued, the English retreating 
until they were reinforced by a band of a lumdred and sixty English and 
Mohegans. The savages were then beaten back with hea\y losses. The 
little stream where this fatal engagement occurred, was henceforth called 
Bloody Brook. 

On the same day of the burning of Deerfield, Hadley was attacked 
while the people were at church. Everything was in confusion, and the 
barbarians had already begun their work of butchery, when the gray- 
haired General Goffe, who was concealed in the village, rushed forth from 
his covert, and by rallying and directing the flying people saved them 
from destruction. After the Indians had been driven into the woods, the 
aged veteran went back to his hiding-place, and was seen no more. Late 
in the autumn, a battle was fought at Springfield ; the town was assaulted 
and most of the dwellings burned. Another attack was made on Hadley, 
and a large part of the village was left in ashes. Hatfield was the next 
object of savage vengeance; but here the English were found prepared, 
and the Indians were repulsed with hea\y losses. The farms and the 
weaker settlements were now abandoned, and the people sought shelter in 
the stronger towns near the river. 

Philip, finding that he could do no farther harm on the northern 
frontier, gathered his warriors together and repaired to the Narragansetts. 
By receiving them, Canonchet openly violated his treaty with the Eng- 
lish, but to refuse them was contrary to the savage virtues of his race. 
To share the dubious fate of Philip was preferred to the longer con- 
tinuance of a hateful alliance with foreigners. The authorities of Massa- 
chusetts immediately declared war against the Narragansett nation, and 
Rhode Island was invaded by a thousand men under command of Colonel 
Josiah Winslow. It was the determination to crush the Wampanoags 
and the Narragansetts at one blow ; the manner of defence adopted by 
the savages favored such an undertaking. In the middle of an immense 
cedar swamp, a short distance south-west of Kingston, in the county of 
Washington, the Indians collected to the number of three thousand. 
Into this place was gathered the whole wealth of the Narragansett nation. 
A village of wigwams extended over several acres of land that rose out 



MASSACHUSETTS.— KIXG PHILIPS WAR. 



143 



of the surrounding morasses. A fort was built on the island, and fortified 
with a palisade and a breastwork of felled timber. Here the savages be- 
lieved themselves secure from assault. The English regiment arrived at 
the swamp at daybreak on the 19th of December, and struggling through 
the bogs, reached the fort at noonday. The attack was made imme- 
diately. The only entrance to the camp was by means of a fallen tree 
that lay from an opening in the palisade to the opposite bank of a pond. 
Over this hazardous passage a brave 
few sprang forward, but were in- 
stantly swept off by the fire of the 
Indians. Another company, made 
cautious by the fate of their com- 
rades, crept around the defences, un- 
til, finding a point unguarded, they 
charged straight into the enclosure. 
The work of death and destruction 








THIUD iCE>"E OF KIXG PHILIP S TVAE. 



now began in earnest. The wigwams 
were set on fire, and the kindling 

flames swept around the village. The yells of the combatants mingled 
-with the roar of the conflagration. But the superior dLscipliue and 
valor of the whites soon decided the battle. The Indians, attempting 
to escape from the burning fort, ran everywhere upon the loaded muskets 
of the English. A thousand wai-riors were killed and lumdreds more 
were captured. Xearly all the wounded perished in the flames. There, 
too, the old men, the women and babes of the nation met the horrors 
of death by fire. The pride of the Xarragansetts had perished in a day. 
But the victory was dearly purchased ; eighty' English soldiers, including 
six captams of the regiment, were killed, and a hundred and fifty others 
were wounded. 

A few of the savages, breaking through the English lines, escaped. 
Led by Philip, they again repaired to the Xipmuclcs, and with the open- 
ing of spring the war was renewed with more violence than ever. As 
their fortunes declined the Indians grew desperate; they had nothing 
more to lose. Around three hundred miles of frontier, extending from 
Maine to the mouth of the Connecticut, there was'iMafesacre and devasta- 
tion. Lancaster, Medfield, Groton and Marlborough were laid in ashes. 
AVeymouth, within twenty- miles of Boston, met the same fate. Every- 
where were seen the traces of rapine and murder. 

But the end was near at hand. The resources of the savages were 
•wasted, and their numbers grew daily less. In April, Canonchet was 
overtaken and caj)tured on the banks of the Blackstone. He was offered 



144 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

his life if he would procure a treaty of peace ; but the haughty chieftain 
rejected the proposal with disdain, and was put to death. Philip was still 
at large, but his company had dwindled to a handful. In the early sum- 
mer, his wife and son were made prisoners ; the latter was sold as a slave, 
and ended his life under the lash of a taskmaster in the Bermudas. The 
savage monarch was heartbroken now, and cared no longer for his life. 
Repairing secretly to his old home at Mount Hope, his j)lace of conceal- 
ment was revealed to the whites. A company of soldiers was sent to sur- 
round him. A treacherous Indian guided the jjarty to the spot, and then 
himself, stealing nearer, took a deadly aim at the breast of his chieftain. 
The report of a musket rang through the forest, and the painted king 
of the Wampanoags sprang forward and fell dead. 

New England suiiered terribly in this war. The expenses and 
losses of the war amounted to fully five hundred thousand dollars. 
Thirteen towns and six hundred dwellings lay smouldering in ashes. 
Almost every family had heard the war-whoop of the savages. Six 
hundred men, the flower and pride of the country, had fallen in the field. 
Hundreds of families had been butchered in cold blood. Gray-haired 
sire, mother and babe had sunk together under the vengeful blow of the 
red man's gory tomahawk. Now there was peace again. The Indian 
race was swept out of New England. The tribes beyond the Connecticut 
came humbly submissive, and pleaded for their lives. The colonists re- 
turned to their desolated farms and villages to build new homes in the 
ashes of old ruins. 

The echo of King Philip's war had hardly died aAvay before the 
country was involved in troubles of a different sort. It had been ex- 
pected that the English government would do something to repair the 
heavy losses which the colonists had sustained ; but not so. Instead of 
help came Edward Randolph, a royal emissary, "with authority to collect 
duties and abridge colonial liberties. Governor Leverett received him 
coldly, and told him in plain words that not even the king could right- 
fully restrict the freedom of his American subjects ; that the people of the 
colonies had finished the Indian war without a cent of expense to the 
English treasury, and that they were now fairly entitled to the enjoyment 
of their chartered rights. After a six weeks' sojourn at Boston, Randolph 
sailed back to London, bearing to the ministry an exaggerated account 
of colonial arrogance. The king was already scheming to revoke all the 
New England charters ; Randolph's reception furnished a further pretext 
for such a course of action. 

The next trouble was concerning the jurisdiction of Maine. Sir 
Ferdinand Gorges, the old proprietor of that province, was now dead ; 



MASSACHUSETTS.— KIXG PHILIP'S WAR. 145 

but his heirs had never relinquished their claims to the territory. The 
people of Maine had meanwhile put themselves under the authority of 
Massachusetts ; but the representatives of Gorges carried the matter before 
the privy council, and in 1677 a decision was rendered in their favor. 
Thereupon the Boston government made a proposition to the Gorges 
family to purchase their claims ; the proposition was accepted, and on the 
6th of May the heirs signed a deed by which, in consideration of twelve 
hundred and fifty pounds sterling, the soil and jurisdiction of the province 
were transferred to Massachusetts. 

A similar difficulty arose in regard to New Hampshire. As far 
back as 1622 the Plymouth council had granted this territory to two of 
their own number — Gorges, just mentioned, and Captain John Mason. 
Seven years after the grant was made, Gorges surrendered his claim to 
Mason, who thus became sole proprietor. But this territory was also 
covered by the charter of Massachusetts. Mason died ; and now, in 1679, 
his son Robert came forward and claimed the province. This cause was 
also taken before the ministers, who decided that the title of the younger 
]\Iason was valid. To the great disappointment of the people of both 
provinces, the two governments were arbitrarily separated. The king's 
policy was now made manifest. A royal government, the first in New 
■England, was immediately established over New Hampshire ; JNlason 
nominated Edward Cranfield as governor, the king confirmed the ap- 
pointment, and received in return one-fifth of all the rents. 

But the people took care that the rents should not amount to much. 
They refused to recognize Cranfield's commission, and thwarted his plans 
in every way possible. Being in despair, he wrote to the English govern- 
ment that he would esteem it the greatest hajjpiness to return home and 
leave the unreasonable people of New Hampshire to themselves. The 
king attributed all this trouble to the influence of Massachusetts. He 
could not forget how that commonwealth had treated his custom-house 
officer Randolph. The hostility of the English government to the exist- 
ing order of things in New England became more bitter than ever. To 
carry out his plan of subverting the colonial governments, the king 
directed his judges to make an inquiiy as to whether Massachusetts had 
not forfeited her charter. The proceedings were protracted until the 
summer of 1684, when the royal court gave a decision in accordance with 
the monarch's wishes. The patent was forfeited, said the judges; and 
the English crown might justly assume entire control of the colony. The 
plan of the king was thus on the point of realization, but the shadow of 
death was already at his door. On the 6th of February, 1685, his e\'ii 

reion of twenty-five years ended with his life, 
lu 



146 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The new sovereign, James II., immediately adopted his brother's 
colonial jjolicy. In the next year after his accession, the scheme so long 
entertained was successfully carried out. The charter of Massachusetts 
was formally revoked ; all the colonies between Nova Scotia and Narra- 
gansett Bay were consolidated, and Joseph Dudley appointed president. 
New England was not prepared for open resistance ; the colonial assembly 
was dissolved by its own act, and the members returned sullenly to their 
homes. In the winter following, Dudley was superseded by Sir Edmund 
Andros, who had been appointed royal governor of all New England. 
His commission ought to have been entitled An Article for the 
Destruction of Colonial. Liberty. If James II. had searched his 
kingdom, he could hardly have found a tool better fitted to do his will. 
The scarlet-coated despot landed at Boston on the 20th of December, and 
at once began the Avork of demolishing the cherished institutions of the 
people. Randolph was made chief secretary and censor of the press; 
nothing might be printed without his sanction. Popular representation 
was abolished. Voting by ballot was prohibited. Town meetings were 
forbidden. The Church of England was openly encouraged. The public 
schools were allowed to go to ruin. JNIen were arrested without warrant 
of law ; and when as prisoners they arose in court to plead the privileges 
of the great English charter which had stood unquestioned for four hun- 
dred and fifty years, they were told that the Great Charter was not made 
for the perverse people of America. Dudley, who had been continued in 
office as chief-justice, was in the habit of saying to his packed juries, at 
the close of each trial : " Now, worthy gentlemen, Ave expect a good ver- 
dict from you to-day ;" and the verdicts were rendered accordingly. 

Thus did Massachusetts lose her liberty; and Plymouth fared no 
better. If the stronger colony fell prostrate, Avhat could the weaker do ? 
The despotism of Andros was quickly extended from Cape Cod Bay to 
the Piscataqua. New Hampshire was next invaded and her civil rights 
completely overthrown. Rhode Island suffered the same calamity. In 
May of 1686 her charter was taken away with a writ, and her constitu- 
tional rights subverted. Some of the colonists brought forward Indian 
deeds for their lands ; the royal judges replied, with a sneer, that the sig- 
nature of Massasoit was not worth as much as the scratch of a bear's paw. 
The seal of Rhode Island was broken, and an irresponsible council ap- 
pointed to conduct the government. Attended by an armed guard, Andros 
proceeded to Connecticut. Arriving at Hartford in October of 1687, he 
found the assembly of the province in session, and demanded the surren- 
der of the colonial charter. The instrument was brought in and laid upon 
the table. A spirited debate ensued, and continued until evening. When 



m- 



MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 147 

it was about to be decided that the charter should be given up, the lamps 
were suddenly dashed out. Other lights were brought in ; but the char- 
ter had disappeared. Joseph Wads^vorth, snatching up the precious 
parchment, bore it oflp through the darkness and concealed it in a hollow 
tree, ever afterward remembered with affection as The Chaeter Oak. 
But the assembly was overawed and the free government of Connecticut 
subverted. Thus was the authority of Andros established throughout 
the country. The people gave vent to their feelings by calling him The 
Tyeant of New England. 

But his dominion ended suddenly. The English Revolution of 
1688 was at hand. James II. was driven from his tlirone and kingdom. 
The entire system of arbitraiy rule which that monarch had established 
fell with a crash, and Andros with the rest. The news of the revolution 
and of the accession of William and Mary reached Boston on the 4th of 
April, 1689. A few days afterward, the governor had occasion to write 
a note to his colonel of militia, telling him to keep the soldiers under 
arms, as there was "a general buzzing among the people." On the 18th 
of the month, tlie citizens of Charlestown and Boston rose in open rebel- 
lion. Andros and his minions, attempting to escape, were seized and 
marched to prison. The insurrection spread through the country; and 
before the 10th of INIay every colony in New England had restored its 
former liberties. 



CHAPTER Xyi. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 

IN 1689, war was declared between France and England. This con- 
flict, known in American history as King William's Wae, grew 
out of the English Revolution of the preceding year. When James II. 
escaped from his kingdom, he found refuge at the court of Louis XIV. 
of France. The two monarchs were both Catholics, and both held the 
same despotic theory of government. On this account, and from other 
considerations, an alliance was made between them, by the terms of which 
Louis agreed to support James in his eifort to recover the English throne. 
Parliament, meanwhile, had settled the c^o^^'n on William of Orange. 
By these means the new sovereign was brought into conflict not only 
with the exiled James, but also with his confederate, the king of France. 



148 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The war which thus originated in Europe soon extended to the American 
colonies of the two nations ; New England and New France entered the 
conflict under the flags of their respective countries. 

The struggle began on the north-eastern frontier of New Hamp- 
shire. On the 27th of June, a party of Indians in alliance with the 
French made an attack on Dover. The venerable magistrate of the 
town, Richard "Waldron, now eighty years of age, was inhumanly mur- 
dered. Twenty-three others were killed, and twenty-nine dragged off 
captive into the wilderness. 

In August a war-party of a hundred Abenakis embarked in a fleet 
of canoes, floated out of the mouth of the Penobscot, and steered down 
the coast to Pemafjuid, now Bremen. The inhabitants were taken by 
surprise ; a company of farmers were surrounded in the harvest-field and 
murdered. The fort was besieged for t\vo days and compelled to sur- 
render. A few of the people escaped into the woods, but the greater 
number were killed or carried away captive. A month later an alliance 
w^as effected between the English and the powerful Mohawks west of the 
Hudson ; but the Indians refused to make war upon their countrymen of 
Maine. The Dutch settlements of New Netherland, having now passed 
under the dominion of England, made common cause against the French. 

In January of 1690 a regiment of French and Indians left Montreal 
and directed their march to the south. Crossing the ISIohawk River, they 
arrived on the 8 th of February at the village of Schenectady. Lying 
concealed in the forest until midnight, they stole through the unguarded 
gates, raised the war-whoop and began the work of death. The to-vNii was 
soon in flames. Sixty people were killed and scalped ; the rest, escaping 
half clad into the darkness, ran sixteen miles through the snow to Albany. 
The settlement of Salmon Falls, on the Piscataqua, was next attacked and 
destroyed by a war-party led by the Frenchman Hertel. Joining another 
company from Quebec, under command of Portneuf, the savages pro- 
ceeded against the colony at Casco Bay. The English fort at that place 
' was taken and the settlements broken up. Thus far the fortunes of the 
war had been wholly on the side of the French and their allies. 

But New England was now thoroughly aroused. In order to pro- 
vide the ways and means of war, a colonial congress was convened at New 
York. Here it was resolved to attempt the conquest of Canada by march- 
ing an army by way of Lake Champlain against Montreal. At the same 
time, Massachusetts was to co-operate with the land forces by sending a 
fleet by way of the St. Lawrence for the reduction of Quebec. Thirt}"- 
four vessels, carrying two thousand troops, w^ere accordingly fitted out, and 
the command given to Sir William Phipps. Proceeding first against Port 



MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 149 

Eoyal, he compelled a surrender; the whole of Nova Scotia submitted 
without a struggle. If the commander had sailed at ouce against Quebec, 
that place too would have been forced to capitulate ; but vexatious delays 
retarded the expedition until the middle of October. JNIeanwhile, an 
Abenaki Indian had carried the news of the coming armament to Fronte- 
nac, governor of Canada ; and when the fleet came in sight of the town, 
the castle of St. Louis was so well garrisoned and provisioned as to bid 
defiance to the English forces. The opportunity was lost, and it only 
remained for Phipps to sail back to Boston. To meet the expenses of 
this unfortunate expedition, Massachusetts was obliged to issue bills of 
credit which were made a legal tender in the payment of debt. Such 
was the origin of paper money in America. 

Meanwhile, the land forces had proceeded from Albany as fivr as 
Lake Champlain. Here dissensions arose among the commanders. 
Colonel Leisler of JS^ew York charged Winthrop of Connecticut with 
treachery; and the charge was returned that Leisler's commissary had 
furnished no supplies for the Connecticut soldiers. The quarrel became 
so violent that the expedition had to be abandoned, and the troops 
marched gloomily homeward. The great campaign had resulted in com- 
plete humiliation. 

Sir William Phipps had as little success in civil matters as in the 
command of a fleet. Shortly after his return from Quebec he was sent as 
ambassador to England. The objects of his mission were, in the first 
place, to procure aid from the English government in the further prose- 
cution of the war ; and secondly, to secure, if possible, a reissue of the old 
colonial charter. To the first of these requests the ministers replied that 
the armies and navies of England could not be spared to take part in 
a petty Indian war ; and the second was met with coldness and refusal. 
King William was secretly opposed to the liberal provisions of the former 
charter, and looked with disfavor on the project of renewing it. It is 
even doubtful whether Pliipps himself desired the restoration of the old 
patent; for when he returned to Boston in the spring of 1692, he bore a 
new instrument from the king, and a commission as royal governor of the 
province. By the terms of this new constitution, Plymouth, Maine and 
Nova Scotia were consolidated with Massachusetts; while New Hamp- 
shire, against the protests and petitions of her people, was forcibly sepa- 
rated from the mother colony. 

The Avar still continued, but without decisive results. In 1694, the 
village of Oyster Piver, now Durham, was destroyed by a band of savages 
led by the French captain Villieu. The inhabitants, to the number of 
ninety-four, were either killed or carried into captivity. Two years later 



150 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the English fortress at Pemaquid was a second time surrendered to the 
French and Indians, under command of Baron Castin. The caj^tives 
were sent to Boston and exchanged for prisoners in the hands of the 
English. In the following March, the town of Haverhill, on the Merri- 
mac, was captured under circumstances of special atrocity. Nearly forty 
persons were butchered in cold blood ; only a few were spared for cap- 
tivity. Among the latter was Mrs. Hannah Dustin. Her child, only 
a week old, was snatched out of her arms and dashed against a tree. The 
heartbroken mother, with her nurse and a lad named Leonardson, from 
Worcester, was taken by the savages to an island in the Merrimac, a short 
distance above Concord. Here, while their captors, twelve in number, 
were asleep at night, the three prisoners arose, silently armed themselves 
with tomahawks, and with one deadly blow after another crushed in the 
temples of the sleeping savages, until ten of them lay still in death; 
then, embarking in a canoe, the captives dropped down the river and 
reached the English settlement in safety. IMrs. Dustin carried home with 
her the gun and tomahawk of the savage who had destroyed her family, 
and a bag containing the scalps of her neighbors. It is not often that the 
mother of a murdered babe has found such ample vengeance. 

But the war was already at an end. Early in 1697, commissioners 
of France and England assembled at the town of Ryswick, in Holland ; 
and on the 10th of the following September, a treaty of peace was con- 
cluded. King William was acknowledged as the rightful- sovereign of 
England, and the colonial boundary-lines of the two nations in America 
were established as before. 

Massachusetts had in the mean time been visited with a worse 
calamity than war. The darkest page in the history of New England is 
that which bears the record of the Salem Witchcraft. The same 
town which fifty-seven years previously had cast out Roger Williams was 
now to become the scene of the most fatal delusion of modern times. In 
February of 1692, in that part of Salem afterward called Dan vers, a 
daughter and a niece of Samuel Parris, the minister, were attacked with 
a nervous disorder which rendered them partially insane. Parris be- 
lieved, or aifected to believe, that the two girls were bewitched, and that 
Tituba, an Indian maid-servant of the household, was the author of the 
affliction. He had seen her performing some of the rude ceremonies of 
her own religion, and this gave color to his suspicions. He tied Tituba, 
and whipped the ignorant creature until, at his own dictation, she con- 
fessed herself a Match. Here, no doubt, the matter would have ended 
had not other causes existed for the continuance and spread of the miser- 
able delusion. 



MASSACHUSETTS.— WAR AND WITCHCRAFT. 151 

But Parris had had a quarrel in his church. A part of the congre- 
gation desired that George Burroughs, a former minister, should be rein- 
stated, to the exclusion of Parris. Burroughs still lived at Salem ; and 
"there ^vas great animosity between the partisans of the former and the 
present pastor. Burroughs disbelieved in witchcraft, and openly ex- 
pressed his contempt of the system. Here, then, Parris found an oppor- 
tunity to turn the confessions of the foolish Indian servant against his 
enemies, to overwhelm his rival with the superstitions of the community, 
and perhaps to have him put to death. There is no doubt whatever that 
the whole murderous scheme originated in the personal malice of Parris. 

But there were others ready to aid him. First among these was 
the celebrated Cotton Mather, minister of Boston. He, being in high re- 
pute for wisdom, had recently preached much on the subject of witchcraft, 
teaching the people that witches were dangerous and ought to be put to 
death. He thus became the natural confederate of Parris, and the chief 
author of the terrible scenes that ensued. Sir William Phipps, the royal 
governor, who had just arrived from England, Avas a member of INIather's 
church. Increase ISIather, the father of Cotton, had nominated Phipps to 
his present office. Stoughton, the deputj^-governor, who was appointed 
judge and presided at the trials of the witches, was the tool of Parris and 
the two Mathers. To these men, more especially to Parris and Mather, 
must be charged the full infamy of what followed. 

By the. laws of England witchcraft Avas punishable with death. 
The code of ]\Iassachusetts was the same as that of the mother-country. 
In the early history of the colony, one person charged with being a 
wizard had been arrested at Charlcstown, convicted and executed. But 
with the progress and enlightenment of the people, many had grown bold 
enough to denounce and despise the baleful superstition. Something, 
therefore, had to be done to save the tottering fabric of witchcraft from 
falling into contempt. A special court was accordingly appointed by 
Governor Phipps to go to Salem and to sit in judgment on the persons 
accused by Parris. Stoughton Mas the presiding judge, Parris himself 
the prosecutor, and Cotton ]\Iather a kind of bishop to decide when the 
testimony was sufficient to condemn. 

On the 21st of ISIarch, the horrible proceedings began. Mary Cory 
was arrested, not indeed for being a witch, but for denying the reality of 
witchcraft. When brought before the church and court, she denied all 
guilt, but was convicted and hurried to prison. Sarah Cloyce and 
Rebecca Nurse, two sisters of the most exemplary lives, were next appre- 
hended as witches. The only witnesses against them were Tit.iba, her half- 
witted Indian husband and the simple girl Abigail Williams, the niece 



152 HISTORY OF THE UNITED. STATES. 

of Parris. The victims were sent to prison, j)rotesting their innocence. 
Giles Cory, a patriarch of eighty years, was next seized ; he also was one 
of those who had opposed ParrLs. The Indian accuser fell down before 
Edward Bishop, pretending to be in a fit under satanic influence; the 
sturdy farmer cured him instantly with a sound flogging, and said that 
he could restore the rest of the afflicted in the same manner. He and his 
M'ife were immediately arrested and condemned. George Burroughs, the 
rival of Parris, was accused and hurried to prison. And so the work 
went on, until seventy-five innocent people were locked up in dungeons. 
Xot a solitary partisan of Parris or Mather had been arrested. 

In the hope of saving their lives, some of the terrified prisoners 
now began to confess themselves witches, or bewitched. It was soon 
found that a confession was almost certain to procure liberation. It be- 
came evident that the accused were to be put to death, not for being 
witches or wizards, but for denying the reality of witchcraft. The special 
court was already in session ; convictions followed fast ; the gallows stood 
waiting for its victims. The truth of ]\Iather's j)reaching Avas to be estab- 
lished by hanging whoever denied it ; and Parris was to save his pastorate 
by murdering his rival. When the noble Burroughs mounted the scaffold, 
he stood composedly and repeated correctly the test-prayer which it was 
said no wizard could utter. The people l)roke into sobs and moans, and 
would have rescued their friend from death ; but the tyrant INIather dashed 
among them on horseback, muttering imprecations, and drove the hang- 
man to his horrid work. Old Giles Cory, seeing that conviction was cer- 
tain, refused to plead, and was jj^rssed to death. Five women were hanged 
in one day. Between the 10th of June and the 22d of September, twenty 
victims were hurried to their doom. Fifty-five others had been tortured 
into the confession of abominable falsehoods. A hundred and fifty lay in 
prison awaiting their fate. Two hundred were accused or suspected, and 
ruin seemed to impend over New England. But a reaction at last set in 
among the people. Notwithstanding the vociferous clamor and denuncia- 
tions of Mather, the witch tribunals were overthrown. The representative 
assembly convened early in October, and the hated court which Phipps 
had appointed to sit at Salem was at once dismissed. The spell was dis- 
solved. The thralldom of the popular mind was broken. Reason shook 
off the terror that had oppressed it. The prison doors were opened, and 
the victims of malice and superstition went forth free. In the beginning 
of the next year a few persons charged with witchcraft were again 
arraigned and brought before the courts. Some were even convicted, but 
the conviction Avent for nothing ; not another life was sacrificed to passion 
and fanaticism. ' 



MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS Oi' ANNE AND GEORGE. 153 

Most of those who had participated in the terrible deeds of the 
preceding summer confessed the great wrong which they had done ; but 
confessions could not restore the dead. The bigoted Mather, in a vain 
attempt to justify himself before the world, wrote a treatise in which he 
expressed his great thankfulness that so many witches had met their just 
doom. It is not the least humiliating circumstance of this sad business 
that Mather's hypocritical and impudent book received the approbation 
of the president of Harvard College. In all this there is to the American 
student one consoling reflection — the pages of his country's liistory will 
never again be blotted with so dark a stain. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 

THE peace which fjlloNved the treaty of Ryswick was of short dura- 
tion. Within less than four years France and England were again 
involved in a conflict which, beginning in Europe, soon extended to the 
American colonies. In the year 1700, Charles II., king of Spain, died, 
having named as his successor Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis 
XIV. This measure pointed clearly to a union of the crowns of France 
and Spain. The jealousy of all Europe was aroused; a league was 
formed between England, Holland and Austria ; the archduke Charles 
of the latter country was put forward by the allied powers as a candidate 
for the Spanish throne ; and war was declared against Louis XIV. for 
supporting the claims of Philip. 

England had against France another cause of offence. In Septem- 
ber of 1701, James II., the exiled king of Great Britain, died at the court 
of Louis, who now, in violation of the treaty of Ryswick, recognized the 
son of James as the rightful sovereign of England. This action was re- 
garded as an open insult to English nationality. King William led his 
armies to the field not less to thwart the ambition of France than to save 
his own crown and kingdom. But the English monarch did not live to 
carry out his plans. While yet the war was hardly begun, the king fell 
from his horse, was attacked with fever, and died in May of 1702. 
Parliament had already settled the crown on Anne, the sister-in-law 
of William and daughter of James II. The new sovereign adopted the 



154 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

policy of her predecessor. From the circumstance of her reign, the con- 
flict with France, which lasted for nearly thirteen years, is known in his- 
tory as Queen Anne's Wae; but a better name is The War of the 
Spanish Succession. 

In America the field of operations was limited to New England 
and South Carolina. The central colonies were scarcely aware that war 
existed. The military operations of both parties were conducted in a 
feeble and desultory manner. The more influential Indian tribes held 
aloof from the struggle. In August, 1701, the powerful Five Nations, 
whose dominions south of Lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence formed 
a barrier between Canada and New York, made a treaty of neutrality 
with both the French and the English. The Abenakis of Maine did the 
same; but the French Jesuits prevailed with the latter to break their 
compact. The first notice of treachery M'hicli the English had, was a 
fearful massacre. In one day the whole country between the town of 
Wells and the Bay of Casco was given up to burning and butchery. 

In midwinter of 1703-4 the town of Deerfield was destroyed. A 
war-party of three hundred French and Indians, setting out from Canada, 
marched on the snow-crust into^ the Connecticut valley. On the last 
night of February, the savages lay in the pine forest that surromided the 
ill-fated village. Just before daybreak they rushed from their covert and 
fired the houses. Forty-seven of the inhabitants were tomahawked. A 
hundred and twelve were dragged into captivity. The prisoners, many 
of them women and children, were obliged to march to Canada. The 
snow lay four feet deep. The poor wretches, haggard with fear and 
starvation, sank down and died. The deadly hatchet hung ever above 
the heads of the feeble and the sick. Eunice Williams, the minister's 
wife, fainted by the Avayside ; in the presence of her husband and five 
captive children, her brains were dashed out with a tomahawk. Those 
who survived to the end of the journey were afterward ransomed and 
permitted to return to their desolated homes. A daughter of Mr. Wil- 
liams remained with the savages, grew up among the Mohawks, married 
a chieftain, and in after years returned in Indian garb to Deerfield. No 
entreaties could induce her to remain with her friends. The solitude of 
the woods and the society of her tawny husband had prevailed over the 
charms of civilization. 

In Maine and New Hampshire the war was marked with similar 
barbarities. Farms were devastated ; towns were burned ; the inhabitants 
were murdered or carried to Canada. Prowling bands of savages, led on 
by French officers, penetrated at times into the heart of Massachusetts. 
Against the treacherous barbarians and their bloodthirsty leaders there 



MASSACHUSETTS.— WAMS OF ANXE AXD GEORGE. 155 

was no security either at home or abroad. Along the desolated frontier 
ruin prevailed, as in the days of King Philip. , 

In 1707, the reduction of Port Eoyal was undertaken by ]\Iassa- 
chusetts. A fleet, bearing a thousand soldiers, was equipped and sent 
against the toMii. But Baron Castin, who commanded the French garri- 
son, conducted the defence with so much skill that the English were 
obliged to abandon the undertaking. From this costly and disastrous 
expedition Massachusetts gained nothing but discouragement and debt. 
Nevertheless, after two years of preparation, the enterprise was renewed ; 
and in 1710 an English and American fleet of tliirty-six vessels, having 
on board four regiments of troops, anchored before Port Eoyal. The 
garrison was weak; Subercase, the French commander, had neither 
talents nor courage ; famine came ; and after a feeble defence of eleven 
days, the place surrendered at discretion. By this conquest all of Nova 
Scotia passed under the dominion of the English. The flag of Great 
Britain was hoisted over the conquered fortress, and the name of Port 
Royal gave place to Annapolis, in honor of Queen Anne. 

Vast preparations were now made for the invasion of Canada. A 
land force under command of General Nicholson was to march against 
Montreal, while Quebec, the key to the French dominions in America, 
was to be reduced by an English fleet. For this purpose fifteen men-of- 
war and fort}' transports were placed under command of Sir Hovendeu 
AValker. Seven regiments of veterans, selected from the armies of Europe, 
were added to the colonial forces and sent with the expedition. Before 
such an armament the defences of Quebec could hardly hold out an hour. 
But for the utter incompetency of the admiral, success would have been 
assured. 

For six weeks in midsummer the great fleet lay idly in Boston Har- 
bor. Sir Hovenden was getting ready to sail. The Abenaki Indians 
carried the news leisurely to Quebec ; and every day added to the strength 
of the ramparts. At last, on the 30th of July, when no further excuse 
could be invented, the ships set sail for the St. Lawrence. At the Bay 
of Gasp6 the admiral thought it necessary to loiter a while; then he 
busied himself with devising a plan to save his ships from the ice during 
the next winter. Proceeding slowly up the St. Lawrence, the fleet, on 
the 22d of August, was enveloped in a thick fog. The wind blew hard 
from the east. The commander was cautioned to remain on deck, but 
went quietly to bed. A messenger aroused him just in time to see eight 
of his best vessels dashed to pieces on the rocks. Eight hundred and 
eighty-four men went down in the foaming whirlpools. A council of war 
was held, and all voted that it was impossible to proceed. In a letter to 



156 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the English government, Walker expressed great gratitude that by the 
loss of a thousand men the rest had been saved from freezing to death at 
Quebec. The fleet sailed back to England, and the colonial troops were 
disbanded at Boston. 

Meanwhile, the army of General Nicholson had marched against 
JNIontreal. But when news arrived of the failure of the fleet, the land 
expedition was also abandoned. The dallying cowardice of Walker had 
brought the campaign of 1711 to a shameful end. France had already 
made overtures for peace. Negotiations were formally begun in the early 
part of 1712; and on the 11th of April in the following year a treaty 
was concluded at Utrecht, a town of Holland. By the terms of the settle- 
ment, England obtained control of the fisheries of Newfoundland. Labra- 
dor, the Bay of Hudson and the whole of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, were 
ceded to Great Britain. On the 13th of July the chiefs of the hostile 
Indian tribes met the ambassadors of New England at Portsmouth, and a 
second treaty was concluded, by which peace was secured throughout the 
American colonies. 

For thirty-one years after the close of Queen Anne's war, Massa- 
chusetts was free from hostile invasion. This was not, however, a period 
of public tranquillity. The people were dissatisfied with the royal govern- 
ment Avhicli King William had established, and were at constant variance 
with their governors. Phipps and his administration had been heartily 
disliked. Governor Shute was equally unpopular. Burnett, who suc- 
ceeded him, and Belcher afterward, were only tolerated because they 
could not be shaken off. The opposition to the royal officers took the 
form of a controversy aboiit their salaries. The general assembly in- 
sisted that the governor and his councilors should be paid in proportion 
to the importance of their several offices, and for actual service only. 
But the royal commissions gave to each officer a fixed salary, which was 
frequently out of all proportion to the services required. After many 
years of antagonism, the difficulty was finally adjusted with a compromise 
in which the advantage was wholly on the side of the people. It was 
agreed that the salaries of the governor and his assistants should be an- 
nually allowed, and the amount fixed by vote of the assembly. The 
representatives of popular liberty had once more triumphed over the 
principles of arbitrary rule. 

On the death of Charles VI. of x\ustria, in 1740, there were 
two principal claimants to the crown of the empire — IMaria Theresa, 
daughter of the late emperor, and Charles Albert of Bavaria. Each 
claimant had his party and his army ; war followed ; and nearly all the 
nations of Europe were swept into the conflict. As usually happened in 



MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 157 

such struggles, England and France were arrayed against each other. 
The contest that ensued is generally known as the War of the Austrian 
Succession, l^ut in American history is called King George's "\Vae; 
for George II. was now king of England. 

In America the only im]5ortant event of the Avar was the capture 
of Louisburg, on Cape Breton Island. This place had been fortified at 
vast expense by the French. Standing at the principal entrance to the 
gulf and river of St. Lawrence, the fortress was regarded as a key to the 
Canadian provinces. New England was quick to note that both New- 
foundland and Nova Scotia were threatened so long as the French flag 
floated over Louisburg. Governor Shirley brought the matter before the 
legislature of Massachusetts, and it was resolved to attempt the capture 
of the enemy's stronghold. 

The other colonies were invited to aid the enterprise. Connecticut 
responded by sending more than five hundred troops ; New Hampshire 
and Khode Island each furnished three hundred; a park of artillery 
was sent from New York; and Pennsylvania contributed a supply of 
provisions. The forces of Massachusetts alone numbered more than tliree 
thousand. It only remained to secure the co-operation of the English 
fleet then cruising in the "West Indies. An earnest invitation was sent to 
Commodore AYarren to join his armament with the colonial forces ; but 
having no orders, he declined the request. Everything devolved on the 
army and navy of New England, but there was no quailing under the 
responsibility. William Pepperell, of Maine, was appointed commander- 
in-chief; and on the 4th of April, 1745, the fleet sailed for Cape Breton. 

At Canseau, the eastern cape of Nova Scotia, the expedition was 
detained for sixteen days. The sea was thick with ice-drifts floating 
from the north. But the delay was fortunate, for in the mean time Com- 
modore Warren had received instructions from England to proceed to 
Massachusetts and aid Governor Shirley in the contemplated reduction 
of Cape Breton. Sailing to the north, Warren brought his fleet safely to 
Canseau on the 23d of April. On the last day of the month the arma- 
ment, now numbering a hundred vessels, entered the Bay of Gabarus in 
sight of Louisburg. A landing was efl'ected four miles below the city. 
On the next day a company of four hundred volunteers, led by William 
Vaughan, marched across the peninsula and attacked a French battery 
Avhich had been planted on the shore two miles beyond the town. The 
French, struck with terror at the impetuosity of the unexpected charge, 
spiked their guns and fled. Before morning the cannons were re-drilled 
and turned upon the fortress. An English battery was established on 
the east side of the harbor, but the sea-walls of Louisburg were so strong 



158 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



that little damage was done by the guns across the bay. An attack in 
the rear of the town seemed impossible on account of a large swamp 
which lay in that direction ; but the resolute soldiers of New England 
lashed their heavy guns upon sledges, and dragged them through the 
marsh to a tract of solid grovmd within two hundred yards of the enemy's 
bastions. Notwithstanding the advantage of this j)osition, the walls of 
the fort stood firm, and the siege progressed slowly. 

On the 18th of May a French ship of sixty-four guns, laden with 
stores for the garrison, was captured by Warren's fleet. The French 
were greatly discouraged by this event, and the defence grew feeble. 
The English were correspondingly elated with the prospect of success. 
On the 26th of the month an eifort was made to capture the French bat- 
tery in the harbor. A company of daring volunteers undertook the 
hazardous enterprise by night. Embarking in boats, they drew near the 
island where the battery was planted, but were discovered and repulsed 
with the loss of a hundred and seventy-six men. It was now determined 
to carry the town by storm. The assault was set for the 18th of June; 
but on the day previous the desponding garrison sent out a flag of truce ; 
terms of capitulation M^ere proposed and accepted, and the English flag 
rose above the conquered fortress. 

By the terms of this surrender not only Louisburg, but the Avhole 
of Cape Breton, was given up to England. The rejoicing at Boston and 

throughout the colonies was only 
equaled by the indignation and alarm 
of the French government. Louis- 
burg must be retaken at all hazards, 
said the ministers of France. For 
this purpose a powerful fleet, under 
command of Duke d'Anville, Mas sent 
out in the following year. Before 
reaching America the duke died of a 
pestilence. His successor went mad 
and killed himself. Storms and ship- 
wrecks and disasters drove the ill- 
fiited expedition to utter ruin. The renewal of the enterprise, in 1747, 
was attended with like misfortune. Commodores Warren and Anson 
overtook the French squadron and compelled a humiliating surrender. 

In 1748, a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, a 
town of Western Germany. After eight years of devastating wai-fare, 
nothing was gained but a mutual restoration of conquests. By the terms 
of settlement, Cape Breton was surrendered to France. With grief and 








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MASSACHUSETTS.— WARS OF ANNE AND GEORGE. 159 

shame the fishermen and farmers of New England saw the isLand which 
had been subdued by their valor restored to their enemies. Of all the 
disputed boundary-lines between the French and English colonics in 
America, not a single one was settled by this treaty. The European 
nations had exhausted themselves with fighting ; what cared they for the 
welfare of distant and feeble provinces? The real war between France 
and England for colonial supremacy in the AYest was yet to be fought. 
Within six years after the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the two great powers 
were involved in the final and decisive conflict. 

The history of Massachusetts has now been traced through a period 
of a hundred and thirty years. A few words on the Chaeacter of 
THE Puritans may be appropriately added. They were in the begin- 
ning a vigorous and hardy people, firm-set in the principles of honesty 
and the practices of virtue. They were sober, industrious, frugal ; reso- 
lute, zealous and steadfast. They esteemed honor above preferment, and 
truth more than riches. Loving home and native land, they left both 
for the sake of freedom ; and finding freedom, they cherished it with the 
zeal and devotion of martyrs. Without influence, they became influential ; 
without encouragement, great. Despised and mocked and hated, they 
rose above their revilers. In the school of evil fortune they gained the 
discipline of patience. Suffering without cause brought resignation Avith- 
out despair. Themselves the victims of persecution, they became the 
founders of a colony — a commonwealth — a nation. They were the chil- 
dren of adversity and the fathers of renown. 

The gaze of the Puritan was turned ever to posterity. He believed 
in the future. His affections and hopes were with the coming ages. For 
his children he toiled and sacrificed ; for them the energies of his life were 
cheerfully exhausted. The system of free schools is the enduring monu- 
ment of his love and devotion. The printing-press is his memorial. 
Almshouses and asylums are the tokens of his care for the unfortunate. 
With him the outcast found sympathy, and the wanderer a home. He 
was the earliest champion of civil rights, and the builder of the Uxiox. 

The fathers of New England have been accused of bigotry. The 
charge is true : it is the background of the picture. In matters of re- 
ligion they were intolerant and supei*stitious. Their religious faith Avas 
gloomy and foreboding. Human life was deemed a sad and miserable 
journey. To be mistaken was to sin. To fail in trifling ceremonies was 
reckoned a grievous crime. In the sliadow of such belief the people be- 
came austere and melancholy. Escaping from the splendid formality of 
the Episcopal Church, they set up a colder and severer form of worship ; 
and the form was made like iron. Dissenters themselves, they could not 



160 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tolerate the dissent of others. To restrain and punish error seemed 
right and necessary. Williams and Hutchinson were banished ; the 
Quakers were persecuted and the witches hanged. But Puritanism 
contained within itself the power to correct its own abuses. Within 
the austere and gloomy fabric dwelt the very soul and genius of Feee 
Thought. Under the ice-bound rigors of the faith flowed a current 
which no fatalism could congeal, no superstition poison. The heart 
of a mighty, tumultuous, liberty-loving life throbbed within the cold, 
stiif body of formalism. A powerful vitality, which no disaster could 
subdue, no persecution quench, warmed and energized and quickened. 
The tyranny of Phipps, the malice of Parris, and the bigotry of Mather 
are far outweighed by the sacrifices of Winthrop, the beneficence of 
Harvard, and the virtues of Sir Henry Vane. The evils of the sys- 
tem may well be forgotten in the glory of its achievements Without 
the Puritans, America would have been a delusion and liberty only a 
name. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

NEW YORK— SETTLEMENT. 



ILLUSTRIOUS Sir Henry Hudson ! Indomitable explorer, daunt- 
less cavalier of the ocean ! Who so worthy to give a name to the 
great inland sea of the frozen North as he who gave his life in heroic 
combat with its terrors ? Who so fit to become the fiither of a colony 
in the New World as he who braved its perils and revealed its mys- 
teries ? And where should the new State be planted unless by the 
broad haven — broadest and best on the American coast — and among 
the beautiful hills and landscapes 

Where The Hudson came rolling through valleys a-smoke 
From the lands of the Iroquois? 

It was the good fortune of the American colonics to be founded by 
men whose lives, like the setting suns of summer, cast behind them 
a long and glorious twilight. But for the name and genius of Hud- 
son the province of New Netherland had never been. 

For ten years after the founding of New Amsterdam the colony 
was governed by directors. These officers were appointed and sent 



NEW YOEK.—SETTLEMENT. 



161 



out by the Dutch East India Company, in accordance with the char- 
ter of that corporation. The settlement on Manhattan Island was as 
yet only a village of traders. Not until 1623 was an actual colony 
sent from Holland 
to New Netherland. 
Two years previous- 
ly, the Dutch West 
India Company had 
been organized, with 
the exclusive privi- 
lege of planting set- 
tlements in America. 
The charter of this 
company was grant- 
ed for a period of 
twenty-four years, 
with the privilege 
of renewal ; and the 
territory to be colo- 
nized extended from 
the Strait of ISIagel- 
lan to Hudson's Bay. 
Manha ttan Island, 
with its cluster of 
huts, jDassed at once imder the control of the new corporation. 

In April of 1623, the ship New Netherland, having on board a 
colony of thirty families, arrived at New Amsterdam. The colonists, 
called Walloons, were Dutch Protestant refugees from Flanders, in 
Belgium. They were of the same religious faith with the Huguenots of 
France, and came to America to find repose from the persecutions of their 
own country. Cornelius May was the leader of the company. The 
greater number of the new immigrants settled with their friends on jSIan- 
hattan Island ; but the captain, with a party of fifty, passing down the 
coast of New Jersey, entered and explored the Bay of Delaware. Sailing 
up the bay and river, the company landed on the eastern shore ; here, at 
a point a few miles below Camden, where Timber Creek falls into the 
Delaware, a site was selected and a block-house built named Fort Nassau. 
The natives were won over by kindness ; and when shortly after the fort 
was abandoned and the settlers returned to New Amsterdam, the Indians 
witnessed their departure with affectionate regret. In the same year 
Joris, another Dutch captain, ascended the Hudson to Castle Island, 




SIR HENRY HUDSON. 



162 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

where, nine years previously, Christiansen had built the older Fort 
Kassau. A flood in the river had SAvept the island bare. Not deeming 
it prudent to restore the works in a place likely to be deluged, Joris 
sailed up stream a short distance and rebuilt the fortress on the present 
site of Albany. The name of this northern outpost was changed to Fort 
Orange ; and here the eighteen families of Joris's company were per- 
manently settled. 

In 1624 civil government began in New Netherland. Cornelius 
]\Iay Avas first governor of the colony. His official duties, however, were 
only such as belonged to the superintendent of a trading-post. In the 
next year William Verhulst became director of the settlement. Herds 
of cattle, swine and sheep Avere brought oxqy from Holland and distributed 
among the settlers. In January of 1626, Peter Minuit, of Wesel, was 
regularly appointed by the Dutch West India Company as governor of 
New Netherland. Until this time the natives had retained the owner- 
ship of Manhattan Island ; but on Minuit's arrival, in May, an offer of 
purchase was made and accepted. The whole island, containing more 
than twenty thousand acres, was sold to the Dutch for twenty-four dol- 
lars. The southern point of land was selected as a site for fortifications ; 
there a block-house was built and surrounded with a palisade. New 
Amsterdam was already a town of thirty houses. In the first year of 
Minuit's administration were begun the settlements of Wallabout and 
Brooklyn, on Long Island. 

The Dutch of New Amsterdam and the Pilgrims of Ncav Plymouth 
were early and fast friends. The Puritans themselves had but recently 
arrived from Holland, and could not forget the kind treatment which 
they had had in that country. They and the Walloons were alike exiles 
fleeing from persecution and tyranny. On two occasions, in 1627, a 
Dutch embassy was sent to Plymouth with an expression of good will. 
The English were cordially invited to remove without molestation to the 
more fertile valley of the Connecticut. Governor Bradford replied with 
words of cheer and sympathy. The Dutch were honestly advised of the 
claims of England to the country of the Hudson ; and the people of New 
Netherland were cautioned to make good their titles by accepting new 
deeds from the council of Plymouth. A touch of jealousy was manifested 
when the Dutch were warned not to send their trading-boats into the 
Bay of Narragansett. 

In 1628 the population of Manhattan numbered two hundred and 
seventy. The settlers devoted their whole energies to the fur-trade. 
Every bay, inlet and river between Rhode Island and the Delaware was 
visited by their vessels. The colony gave promise of rapid development 



NEW YORK.— SETTLEMENT. 163 

and of great profit to the proprietors. If the houses were rude and 
thatched with straAv, there were energy and thrift within. If only wooden 
chimneys carried up the smoke, the fires of the hearthstones were kindled 
with laughter and song. If creaking windmills flung abroad their un- 
gainly arms in the winds of Long Island Sound, it was proof that the 
people had families to feed and meant to feed them. 

The West India Company now came forward with a new and pecu- 
liar scheme of colonization. In 1629, the corporation created a Charter 
OF Privileges, under which a class of proprietors called patroons were 
authorized to possess and colonize the country. Each patruon might 
select anywhere in New Netherland a tract of land not more than sixteen 
miles in length, and of a breadth to be determined by the location. On 
the banks of a navigable river not more than eight miles might be ap- 
propriated by one proprietor. Each district was to be held in fee simple 
by the patroon, who was empowered to exercise over his estate and its 
inhabitants the same authority as did the hereditary lords of Europe. 
The conditions were that the estates should be held as dependencies of 
Holland ; that each patroon should purchase his domain of the Indians ; 
and that he should, within four years from the date of his title, establish 
on his manor a colony of not less than fifty persons. Education and re- 
ligion were commended in the charter, but no provision was made for 
the support of either. 

Under the provisions of this instrument five estates were imme- 
diately established. Three of them, lying contiguous, embraced a district 
of twenty-four miles in the valley of the Hudson above and below Fort 
Orange. The fourth manor was laid out by Michael Pauw on Staten 
Island ; and the fifth, and most important, included the southern half of 
the present State of Delaware. To this estate a colony was sent out from 
Holland in the spring of 1631. Samuel Godyn was patroon of the do- 
main, but the immediate management was entrusted to David Peterson de 
Vries. With a company of thirty immigrants, he reached the entrance 
to Delaware Bay, and anchored within Cape Henlopen. Landing five 
miles up the bay, at the mouth of Lewis Creek, the colony selected a site 
and laid the foundations of Lewistown, the oldest settlement in Delaware. 

After a year of successful management, De Vries returned to Hol- 
land, leaving the settlement in charge of Gillis Hosset. The latter, a 
man of no sagacity, soon brought the colony to ruin. An Indian chief 
who offended him was seized and put to death. The natives, who thus 
far had treated the strangers with deference and good faith, were aroused 
to vengeance. Rising suddenly out of an ambuscade upon the terrified 
colonists, they left not a man alive. The houses and palisades were 



164 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

burned to the ground ; nothing but bones and ashes remained to testify 
of savage passion. When De Vries returned, in December of 1632, he 
found only the blackened ruins of his flourishing hamlet. He sailed first 
to Virginia for a cargo of supplies, and thence to New Amsterdam ; but 
before the colony could be re-established, Lord Baltimore had received 
from the English government a patent which embraced the whole of 
Delaware ; the weaker, though older, claim of the Dutch patroon gave 
way before the charter of his jnore powerful rival. 

In April of 1633, Minuit was superseded in the government of New 
Netherland by Wouter van Twiller. Three months previously the Dutch 
had purchased of the natives the soil around Hartford, and had erected a 
block-house within the j)resent limits of the city. This was the first 
fortress built on the Connecticut River ; but the Puritans, though pro- 
fessing friendship, were not going to give up the valley without a struggle. 
In October of the same year an armed vessel, sent out from Plymouth, 
sailed up the river and openly defied the Dutch commander at Hartford. 
Passing the fortress, the English proceeded up stream to the mouth of 
the river Farmington, where they landed and built Fort Windsor. Two 
years later, by the building of Saybrook, at the mouth of the Connecticut, 
the English obtained command of the river both above and below the 
Dutch fort. The block-house at Hartford, being thus cut off, was com- 
paratively useless to the authorities of New . Netherland ; English towns 
multiplied in the neighborhood ; and the Dutch finally surrendered their 
eastern outpost to their more powerful rivals. 

Four of the leading European nations had now established perma- 
nent colonies in America. The fifth to plant an American State was 
Sweden. As early as 1626, Gustavus Adolphus, the Protestant king 
of that country and the hero of his age, had formed the design of estab- 
lishing settlements in the West. For this purpose a company of mer- 
chants had been organized, to whose capital the king himself contributed 
four hundred thousand dollars. The objects had in view M'cre to form a 
refuge for persecuted Protestants and to extend Swedish commerce. But 
before his plans of colonization could be carried into effect, Gustavus be- 
came involved in the Thirty Years' War, then raging in Germany. The 
company was disorganized, and the capital wasted in the purchase of mili- 
tary stores. In November of 1632 the Swedish king was killed at the 
battle of Liitzen. For a while it seemed that the plan of colonizing 
America had ended in failure, but Oxenstiern, the great Swedish minis- 
ter, took up the work which his master had left unfinished. The charter 
of the company was renewed, and after four years of preparation the 
enterprise was brought to a successful issue. 



NEW YORK.—SETTLEMENT. 165 

In the mean time, Peter Minuit, the recent governor of New 
Netherland, had left the service of Holland and entered that of Sweden. 
To him was entrusted the management of the first Swedish colony which 
was sent to America. Late in the year 1637, a company of Swedes and 
Finns left the harbor of Stockholm, and in the following February 
arrived in Delaware Bay. Never before had the Northerners beheld so 
beautiful a land. They called Cape Henlopen the Point of Paradise. 
The whole country, sweeping around the west side of the bay and up the 
river to the falls at Trenton, was honorably purchased of the Indians. 
In memory of native land, the name of New Sweden was given to this 
fine territory. The colony landed just below the mouth of the Brandy- 
wine, in the northern part of the present State of Delaware. On the left 
bank of a small tributary, at a point about six miles from the bay, a spot 
was chosen for the settlement. Here the foundations of a fort were laid, 
and the immigrants soon provided themselves with houses. The creek 
and the fort were both named in honor of Christiana, the maiden queen 
of Sweden. 

The colony prospered greatly. By each returning ship letters were 
borne to Stockholm, describing the loveliness of the country. Immigra- 
tion became rapid and constant. At one time, in 1640, more than a hun- 
dred families, unable to find room on the crowded vessels which were 
leaving the Swedish capital, were turned back to their homes. The 
banks of Delaware Bay and River were dotted with pleasant hamlets. 
On every hand appeared the proofs of well-directed industry. Of all 
the early settlers in America, none were more cheerful, intelligent and 
virtuous than the Swedes. 

From the first, the authorities of New Amsterdam were jealous 
of the colony on the Delaware. Sir William Kieft, who had succeeded 
the incompetent Van Twiller in the governorship, sent an earnest remon- 
strance to Christiana, warning the settlers of their intrusion on Dutch 
territory. But the Swedes, giving little heed to the complaints of their 
neighbors, went on enlarging their borders and strengthening their out- 
posts. Governor Kieft was alarmed and indignant at these aggressions, 
and as a precautionary measure sent a party to rebuild Fort Nassau, on 
the old site below Camden. The Swedes, regarding this fortress as a 
menace to their colony, adopted active measures of defence. Ascending 
the river to within six miles of the mouth of the Schuylkill, they landed 
on the island of Tinicum, and built an impregnable fort of hemlock 
logs. Here, in 1643, Governor Printz established his residence. To 
Pennsylvania, as well as to Delaware, Sweden contributed the earliest 
colony. 



166 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In 1G40, New Nethcrland became involved in a war with the 
Indians of Long Island and New Jersey. The natives of the lower 
Hudson were a weak and unwarlike people; nnder just treatment they 
would have faithfully kept the peace. But dishonest traders had mad- 
dened them with rum and then defrauded and abused them. Burning 
with resentment and hate, the savages of the Jersey shore crossed over to 
Staten Island, laid waste the farms and butchered the inhabitants. New 
Amsterdam was for a while endangered, but was soon put in a state 
of defence. A company of militia Avas organized and sent against the 
Delawares of New Jersey, but nothing resulted from the expedition. A 
large bounty was offered for every member of the tribe of the Raritans, 
and many were hunted to death. On both sides the war degenerated 
into treachery and murder. Through the mediation of Roger Williams, 
the great peacemaker of Rhode Island, a truce was obtained, and imme- 
diately broken. A chieftain's son, who had been made drunk and robbed, 
went to the nearest settlement and killed the first Hollander whom he 
met. Governor Kieft demanded the criminal, but the sachems refused 
to give him up. They offered to pay a heavy fine for the wrong done, 
but Kieft would accept nothing less than the life of the murderer. 

While the dispute was still unsettled, a party of the terrible ]\Io- 
hawks came down the river to claim and enforce their supremacy over 
the natives of the coast. The timid Algonquins in the neighborhood of 
New Amsterdam cowered before the mighty warriors of the North, 
huddled together on the bank of the Hudson, and begged assistance of 
the Dutch. Here the vindictive Kieft saw an opportunity of wholesale 
destruction. A company of soldiers set out secretly from JNIanhattan, 
crossed the river and discovered the lair of the Indians. The place was 
surrounded by night, and the first notice of danger given to the savages 
was the roar of muskets. Nearly a hundred of the poor wretches were 
killed before daydawn. Women who shrieked for pity were mangled to 
death, and children were thrown into the river. 

W^hcn it was known among the tribes that the Dutch, and not the 
Mohawks, were the authors of this outrage, the war was renewed with 
fury. The Indians were in a frenzy. Dividing into small war-parties, 
they concealed themselves in the woods and swamps ; then rose, without a 
moment's warning, upon defenceless farmhouses, burning and butchering 
without mercy. At this time that noted woman Mrs. Anne Hutchinson 
was living with her son-in-law in the valley of the Housatonic. Her 
house was surrounded and set on fire by the savages ; every member of 
the family except one child was cruelly murdered. Mrs. Hutchinson 
herself was burned alive. 



NEW YORK.— ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. 167 

In 1643, Captain John Underhill, a fugitive from Massachusetts, 
•was appointed to the command of the Dutch forces. At the head of a 
regiment raised by Governor Kieft he invaded New Jersey, and brought 
the Delawares into subjection. A decisive battle was fought on Long 
Island ; and at Greenwich, in Western Connecticut, the power of the In- 
dians was finally broken. Again the ambassadors of the Iroquois came 
forward with proposals for peace. Both parties were anxious to rest from 
the ruin and devastation of war. On the 30th of August, 1645, a treaty 
was concluded at Fort Amsterdam. 

Nearly all of the bloodshed and sorrow of these five years of war 
may be charged to Governor Kieft. He was a revengeful and cruel man, 
whose idea of government was to destroy whatever opposed him. The 
people had many times desired to make jjeace with the Indians, but the 
jiroject had always been defeatetl by the headstrong passions of the 
governor. A popular party, headed by the able De Vries, at last grew 
powerful enough to defy his authority. As soon as the war was ended, 
petitions for his removal were circulated and signed by the people. Two 
years after the treaty, the Dutch West India Company revoked his com- 
mission and apjwinted Peter Stuyvesant to succeed him. In 1647, Kieft 
embarked for Europe; but the heavy-laden merchantman in which ho 
sailed was dashed to pieces by a storm on the coast of Wales, and the 
guilty governor of New Netherland found a grave in the sea. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

NEW YORK.—ADJHNISTBATION OF STUYVESANT. 

n^HE honest and soldierly Peter Stuyvesant was the last and 
-*- greatest of the governors of New Netherlands He entered upon his 
duties on the 11th of May, 1647, and continued in ofiioe for more than 
seventeen years. His first care Avas to conciliate the Indians. By the 
wisdom and liberality of his government the wayward red men were re- 
claimed from hostility and hatred. So intimate and cordial became the 
relations between the natives and the Dutch that they were suspected of 
making common cause against the English; even Massachusetts was 
alarmed lest such an alliance should be formed. But the policy of 
Governor Stuyvesant was based on nobler principles. 

Until now the West India Company had had exclusive control of 



168 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the commerce of New Netherland. In the first year of the new adminis- 
tration this monopoly was abolished, and regular export duties were sub- 
stituted. The benefit of the change was at once apparent in the imjirove- 
ment of the Dutch province. In one of the letters written to Stuyvesant 
by the secretary of the company, the remarkable prediction is made that 
the commerce of New Amsterdam should cover every ocean and the ships 
of all nations crowd into her harbor. But for many years the growth of 
the city was slow. As late as the middle of the century, the better parts 
of Manhattan Island -were still divided among the farmers. Central Park 
Avas a forest of oaks and cliestnuts. 

In 1650, a boundary-line was fixed between Ncav England and New 
Netherland. The Dutch were fearful lest the English should reach the 
Hudson and cut off the fur-trade between Fort Orange and New Amster- 
dam. Governor Stuyvesant met the ambassadors of the Eastern colonies 
at Hartford, and after much discussion an eastern limit was set to the 
Dutch possessions. The line there established extended across Long 
Island north and south, passing through Oyster Bay, and thence to Green- 
wich, on the other side of the sound. From this point northward the 
dividing-line was nearly identical with the present boundary of Connec- 
ticut on the west. Tin's treaty was ratified by the colonies, by the West 
India Company and by the states-general of Holland; but the English 
government treated the matter with indifference and contempt. 

Stuyvesant had less to fear from the colony of New Sweden. The 
people of New Netherland outnumbered the Swedes as ten to one, and 
the Dutch claim to the country of the Delaware had never been re- 
nounced. In 1651, an armament left New Amsterdam, entered the bay 
and came to anchor at a point on the western shore five miles below the 
mouth of the Brandy wine. On the present site of New Castle, Fort Cas- 
imir Avas built and garrisoned with Dutch soldiers. This act Ava? 
equi\'alent to a declaration of Avar. The SAvedish settlement of Christiana 
was almost in sight of the hostile fortress, and a conflict could hardly be 
aA'bided. Rising, the gOA^ernor of the Swedes, looked on quietly until 
Fort Casimir AA-as completed, then captured the place by stratagem, over- 
powered the garrison and hoisted the flag of SAveden. 

It Avas a short-lived triumph. The West India Company were 
secretly pleased that the Swedes had committed an act of open violence. 
Orders Avere at once issued to Stuyvesant to A'isit the Swedish colonists 
Avith A^engeance, and to compel their submission or drive them from the 
DelaAvare. In September of 1655 the orders of the company AA'ere car- 
ried out to the letter. The old goA'crnor put himself at the head of more 
than six hundred troops — a number almost equal to the entire ^lopulation 




J3ogart & £61gej t JU* 



NEW YORK.— ADMINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. 169 

of New Sweden — and sailed to Delaware Bay. Resistance was hopeless. 
The Dutch forces were landed at New Castle, and the Swedes gave way. 
Before the 25th of the month every fort belonging to the colony had been 
forced to capitulate. Governor Rising was captured, but was treated with 
great respect. Honorable terms were granted to all, and in a few days 
the authority of New Netherland was established throughout the country. 
Except a few turbulent spirits who removed to Maryland and Virginia, 
the submission was universal. After an existence of less than eighteen 
years, the little State of New Sweden had ceased to be. The American 
possessions and territorial claims of France, England, Holland, Sweden 
and Spain will be best understood from an examination of the accom- 
panying map, drawn for the year 1655. 

How hardly can the nature of savages be restrained ! While Gov- 
ernor Stuyvasant was absent on his expedition against the Swedes, the 
Algonquin tribes rose in rebellion. The poor creatures were going to 
take New Amsterdam. In a fleet of sixty-four canoes they appeared be- 
fore the town, yelling and discharging arrows. What could their puny 
missiles do against the walls of a European fortress? After paddling 
about until their rage, but not their hate, was spent, the savages \A-ent on 
shore and began their old work of burning and murder. The return of 
the Dutch forces from the Delaware induced the sachems to sue for peace, 
which Stuyvesant granted on better terms than the Indians had deserved. 
The captives were ransomed, and the treacherous tribes were allowed to 
go with trifling punishments. 

For eight years after the conquest of New Sweden the peace of New 
Netherland was unbroken. In 1663 the natives of the county of Ulster, 
on the Hudson, broke out in Avar. The town of Esopus, now Kingston, 
was attacked and destroyed. Sixty-five of the inhabitants Avere either 
tomahawked or carried into captivity. To punish this outrage a strong 
force was sent from New Amsterdam. The Indians fled, hoping to find 
refuge in the woods ; but the Dutch soldiers pursued them to their vil- 
lages, burned their wigwams and killed every warrior who could be over- 
taken. As winter came on, the humbled tribe began to beg for mercy. 
In December a truce Avas granted ; and in JNIay of the folloAA'ing year 
a treaty of peace Avas concluded. 

Governor StuyA'esant had great difficulty in defending his province 
beyond the Delaware. The queen of SAveden and her ministers at Stock- 
holm still looked fondly to their little American colony, and cherished 
the hope of recoA^ering the conquered territory. A more dangerous com- 
petitor AA-as found in Lord Baltimore, of Maryland, AA'hose patent, given 
under the great seal of England, covered all the territory betAA-een the 



1"0 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Chesapeiilvo and Delaware Bay, as far north as the latitude of Phila- 
deljjhia. Berkeley, of Virginia, also claimed New Sweden as a part of 
his dominions. Connecticut pushed her settlements westward on Long 
Island, and purchased all the remaining Indian claims between her 
western frontier and the Hudson. Massachusetts boldly declared her in- 
tention to extend her boundaries to Fort Orange. The indignant Stuy- 
vesant asked tlio agents of Connecticut where the province of New 
Ketherland could shortly be found ; and the agents coolly answered that 
they did not Jcnoio. 

Discord at home added to the governor's embarrassments. For 
nmny years the Dutch had witnessed the growth and prosperity of the 
English colonics. Boston had outgrown New Amsterdam. The schools 
of jNIassachusetts and Connecticut flourished; the academy on Man- 
hattan, after a sickly career of two years, was discontinued. In New 
Netherland heavy taxes were levied for the support of the poor ; New 
England had no poor. Liberty and r^ght were the subjects of debate in 
every English village ; to the Dutch farmers and traders such words had 
little meaning. The people of New Netherland grew emulous of the 
progress of their powerful neighbors, and attributed their own abasement 
to the mismanagement and selfish greed of the West India Company. 
AVithout actual disloyalty to Holland, the Dutch came to prefer the laws 
and customs of England. Under these accumulating troubles the faithful 
Stuyvesant was welluigh overwhelmed. 

Such was the condition of affairs at the beo-inninsr of 1664. Eng- 
land and Holland were at peace. Neither nation had reason to appre- 
hend an act of violence from the other. In all that followed, the arbi- 
trary principles and unscrupulous disposition of the English king were 
fully manifested. On the 12th of ]\Iarcli in this year the duke of York 
received at the hands of his brother, Charles II., two extensive patents 
for American territory. The first grant included the district reaching 
from the Kennebec to the St. Croix River, and the second embraced the 
whole country between the Connecticut and the Delaware. Without re- 
gard to the rights of Holland, in utter contemjjt of the West India Com- 
pany, through whose exertions the valley of the Hudson had been peopled, 
with no respect for the wishes of the Dutch, or even for the voice of his 
own Parliament, the English monarch in one rash hour desj)oiled a sister 
kingdom of a well-earned province. 

The duke of York made haste to secure his territory. No time 
must be left for the states-general to protest against the outrage. An 
English squadron was immediately equipped, put under command of 
Richard Nicolls and sent to America. In July the armament reached 



NEW YORK.—AD^IINISTRATION OF STUYVESANT. 



171 



Boston, and thence proceeded against New Amsterdam. On the 28th of 
August, the fleet passed the Narrows, and anchored at Gravesend Bay. 
Tlie English camp was pitched at Brooklyn Ferry ; and before the Dutch 
liad recovered from their surprise, the whole of Long Island M-as sub- 
dued. An embassy came over from New Amsterdam. Governor Stuy- 
vesant, ever true to his employers, demanded to know the meaning of all 
this hostile array. To 
receive the surrender 
of New Nethorland 
was the quiet answer 
of Nicolls. There 
must be an immediate 
acknowledgment of the 
sovereignty of Eng- 
land. Those who sub- 
mitted should have the 
rights of Englishmen ; 
those who refused 
should hear the crash 
of cannon-balls. The 
Dutch council of New 
Amsterdam was im- 
mediately convened. 
It was clear that the 
burgomasters meant to 
surrender. The stormy 
old governor exhorted 

them to rouse to action and fight; some one replied that the Dutch 
^Yest India Company was not worth fighting for. Burning with indig- 
nation, Stuyvesant snatched up the written proposal of Nicolls and tore 
it to tatters in the presence of his council. It was all in vain. The 
brave old man was forced to sign the capitulation ; and on the 8th of 
September, 1664, New Netherland ceased to exist. The English flag 
was hoisted over the fort and toAvn, and the name of New York was 
substituted for New Amsterdam. The surrender of Fort Orange, now 
named Albany, followed on the 24th ; and on the 1st of October the 
Swedish and Dutch settlements on the Delaware capitulated. The con- 
quest was complete. The supremacy of Great Britain in America was 
finally established. From the north-east corner of jNIaine to the southern 
limits of Georgia, every mile of the American coast was under the flag 
of EnQ;land. 




I'FTii: sruYvrs\NT. 



172 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CPIAPTER XX. 
NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 

"piCHArtD XICOLLS, the first English governor of New York, 
A.\j began his duties by settling the boundaries of his province. It was 
a M'ork full of trouble and vexation. As early as 1623 the whole of Long 
Island had been granted to the earl of Stirling. Connecticut also claimed 
and occupied all that part of the island included in the present county of 
Suffolk. Against both of these claimants the patent of the duke of York 
was now to be enforced by his deputy Xicolls. The claim of Stirling was 
fairly purchased by the governor, but the pretensions of Connecticut were 
arbitrarily set aside. This action was the source of so much discontent 
that the duke was constrained to compensate Connecticut by making a 
favorable change in her south-west boundary-line. 

Two months before the conquest of New Netherland by the Eng- 
lish, the irregular territory between the Hudson and the Delaware, as far 
north as a point on the latter river in the latitude of forty-one degrees 
and forty minutes, was granted to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. 
This district, corresponding, except on the northern boundary, with the 
present State of New Jersey, was now wrested from the jurisdiction of 
New York, and a separate government established by the proprietors. 
The country below the Delaware, until recently called New Sweden, but 
now named The Territories, was consolidated with New York and 
ruled by deputies appointed by the governors of that province. Finally, 
the new name conferred by Nicolls on his capital was extended to all 
the country formerly called New Netherland. 

At the first the people were delnded with many promises of civil 
liberty. To secure this, the Dutch, against the passionate appeals of the 
patriotic Stuyvesant, had voluntarily surrendered themselves to the Eng- 
lish government. But it was a poor sort of civil liberty that any province 
was likely to obtain from one of the Stuart kings of England. The 
promised right of representation in a general assembly of the people was 
evaded and withheld. To this was added a greater grief in the annulling 
of the old titles by which, for half a century, the Dutch farmers had held 
their lands. The people were obliged to accept new deeds at the hands 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 173 

of the English governor, and to pay him therefor such sums as yielded an 
immense revenue. The evil done to the province, however, was less than 
might have been expected from so arbitrary and despotic a government. 

In 1667, Kicolls was superseded by Lovelace. With less ability 
and generosity than his predecessor, he proved a greater tyrant. The bad 
principles of the system established by the duke of York were now fully 
developed. The people became dissatisfied and gloomy. Protests against 
the government and petitions for redress were constantly presented, and 
constantly rejected with contempt. The discontent was universal. The 
towns of Southold, Southampton and Easthampton resisted the tax- 
gatherers. The people of Huntington voted that they were robbed of the 
privileges of Englishmen. The villagers of Jamaica, Flushing and Hemp- 
stead passed a resolution that the governor's decree of taxation was contrary 
to the laws of the English nation. The only attention which Lovelace 
and his council paid to these resolutions was to declare them scandalous, 
illegal and seditious, and to order them to be publicly burnt before the 
town-house of New York. "When the Swedes, naturally a quiet and 
submissive people, resisted the exactions of the government, they were 
visited with additional severity. " If there is any more murnuu-ing against 
the taxes, make them so heavy that the people can do nothing but think 
how to pay them," said Lovelace in his instructions to his deputy. 

The Dutch and the English colonists were always friends. Not 
once in the whole history of the country did they lift the sword against 
each other. Even while England and Holland were at war, as they were 
in 1652-54, the American subjects of the two nations remained at peace. 
Another war followed that act of violence by which, in 1664, the duke 
of York possessed himself of New Netherland ; but tlic conflict did not 
extend to America. A third time, in 1672, Charles II. was induced l)y 
the king of France to begin a contest with the Dutch government. This 
time, indeed, the struggle extended to the colonics, and New York was 
revolutionized, but not by the action of iier own people. In 1673 a small 
squadron was fitted out by Holland and placed under command of the 
gallant Captain Evertsen. The fleet sailed for America, and arrived be- 
fore Manhattan on the 30th of July. The governor of New York was 
absent, and ]\Ianning, the deputy-governor, was a coward. The defences 
of the city were dilapidated, and the people refused to strengthen them. 
Within four hours after the arrival of the squadron the fort was sur- 
rendered. The city capitulated, and the whole province yielded ^vithout 
a struggle. New Jersey and Delaware sent in their submission ; the 
name of Now Netherland was revived ; and the authority of Holland ^^•as 
restored from Connecticut to INIaryland. 



171 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The reconquest of Ngav York by the Dutch was only a brief mih- 
tary oceiipatioii of the country. The civil authority of Holland was never 
reestablished. In 1674, Charles II. was obliged by his Parliament to 
conclude a treaty of ])eace. There was the usual clause requiring the 
restoration of all conquests made during the war. New York reverted 
to the English government, and the rights of the duke were again recog- 
nized in the province. To make his authority doubly secure for the 
future, he obtained from his brother, the king, a new patent confirming 
the provisions of the former charter. The man who now received the 
appointment of deputy-governor of New York Avas none other than Sir 
Edmund Andros. On the last day of October the Dutch forces were 
finally withdrawn, and Andros assumed the government. 

It was a sad sort of government for the people. The worst prac- 
tices of Lovelace's administration were revived. The principles of arbi- 
trary rule were openly avowed. Taxes were levied without authority of 
law, and the appeals and protests of the people Avere treated with derision. 
The clamor for a popular legislative assembly had become so great that 
Andros was on the jioint of yielding. He even wrote a letter to the duke 
of York advising that thick-headed prince to grant the people the right 
of electing a colonial legislature. The duke replied that popular assem- 
blies were seditious and dangerous ; that they only fostered discontent and 
disturbed the peace of the government ; and finally, that he did not see 
any use for them. To the people of New York the civil liberty of the 
New England colonies seemed farther off than ever. 

By the terms of his grant the duke of York claimed jurisdiction 
over all the territory between the Connecticut River and Maryland. To 
assert and maintain this claim of liLs master was a part of the deputy- 
governor's business in America. The first effort to extend the duke's 
territorial rights to the limits of his charter Avas made in July of 1675. 
With some armed sloops and a company of soldiers, Andros proceeded to 
the mouth of the Connecticut in the hope of establishing his jurisdiction. 
The general assembly of the colony had heard of his coming, and had 
sent word to Captain Bull, who commanded the fort at Saybrook, to re- 
sist Andros in the name of the king. "When the latter came in sight and 
hoisted the flag of England, the same colors were raised within the fortress. 
The royal governor was permitted to land ; but when he began to read 
his commission, he was ordered in the king's name to desist. Overawed 
by the threatening looks of the Saybrook militia, Andros retired to his 
boats and set sail for Long Island. 

Notwithstanding the grant of New Jersey to Carteret and Berkeley, 
the attempt was now made to extend the jurisdiction of New York over 



JS'EW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 175 

the lower province. Andros issued a decree that ships saihng to and 
from the ports of New Jersey should pay a duty at the tustom-house 
of New York. This tyrannical action was openly resisted. Andros 
attempted to frighten the assembly of New Jersey into submission, and 
proceeded so far as to arrest Philip Carteret, the deputy-governor. But 
it was all of no use. The representatives of the people declared them- 
selves to be under the protection of the Great Charter, Mhich not even the 
duke of York, or his brother the king, could alter or annul. In August 
of 1682 the territories beyond the Delaware were granted by the duke to 
William Penn. This little district, first settled by the Swedes, afterward 
conquered by the Dutch, then transferred to England on the conquest of 
New Netherland, was now finally separated from the jurisdiction of New 
York and joined to Pennsylvania. The governors of the latter province 
continued to exercise authority over the three counties on the Delaware 
until the American Revolution. 

At the close of Andros's administration, in 1683, Thomas Dongan, 
a Catholic, became governor of New York. For thirty years the people 
had been clamoring for a general assembly. Just before Andros left the 
province, the demand became more vehement than ever. The retiring 
governor, himself of a despotic disposition, counseled the duke to concede 
the right of representation to the people. At last James yielded, not so 
much with the view of extending popular rights, as with the hope of in- 
creasing his revenues from the improved condition of his province. 
Dongan, the new governor, came with full instructions to call an assem- 
bly of all the freeholders of New York, by Avhom certain persons of their 
own number should be elected to take part in the government. Seventy 
years had passed since the settlement of INIanhattan Island ; and now for 
the first time the people were permitted to choose their own rulers and to 
frame their own laws. 

The first act of the new assembly was to declare that the supreme 
legislative power of the province resided in the governor, the council and 
THE PEOPLE. All freeholders were granted the right of suffrage; trial 
by jury was established; taxes should no mOre be levied except by eon- 
sent of the assembly ; soldiers should not be quartered on the people ; 
martial law should not exist; no person accepting the general doctrines 
of religion should be in any wise distressed or persecuted. All the rights 
and privileges of Massachusetts and Virginia Avere carefully written by 
the zealous law-makers of New York in their first charter of liberties. 

In July of 1684 an important treaty was concluded at Albany. 
The governors of New York and Virginia were met in convention by the 
sachems of the Iroquois, and the terms of a lasting peace were settled. 



176 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

A lono; war ensued between the Five Nations and the French. The 
Jesuits of Canada employed every artifice and intrigue to induce tlie 
Indians to break tlieir treaty with the Enghsli, but all to no purpose; 
the alliance was faithfully observed. In 1G84, and again in 1687, the 
French invaded the territory of the Iroquois ; but the mighty INIohawks 
and Oneidas drove back their foes with loss and disaster. By the barrier 
of the friendly Five Nations on the north, the English and Dutch colo- 
nies were screened from danger. 

In 1685 the duke of York became king of England. It was soon 
found that even the monarch of a great nation could violate his pledges. 
King James became the open antagonist of the government which had 
been established under his own directions. The popular legislature of 
New York was abrogated. An odious tax M'as levied by an arbitrary 
decree. Printing-presses were forbidden in the 2)rovince. All the old 
abuses were revived and made a ])ublic boast. 

In December of 1686, Edmund Andros became governor of all 
New England. It was a part of his plan to extend his dominion over 
New York and New Jersey. To the former province, Francis Nicholson, 
the lieutenant-general of Andros, was sent as deputy. Dongan Avas super- 
seded, and until the English Revolution of 1688, New York was ruled 
as a dependency of New England. When the news of that event and of 
the accession of William of Orange reached the province, there was a 
general tunuilt of rejoicing. The people rose in rebellion against the 
government of Nicholson, who was glad enough to escape from New 
York and return to England. 

The leader of the insurrection was Jacob Leisler, a captain of the 
militia. A committee of ten took upon themselves the task of reorganizing 
the government. Leisler was commissioned to take possession of the fort 
of New York. Most of the troops in the city, together with five hnndred 
volunteers, proceeded against the fort, which Mas surrendered without a 
struggle. The insurgents published a declaration in Mhicli they avowed 
their loyalty to the i)rince of Orange, their countryman, and expressed 
their determination to yield innnediate obedience to his authority. A 
provisional government was organized, with Leisler at the head. The 
provincial councilors, M'ho were friends and adherents of the deposed 
Nicholson, left the city and repaired to Albany. Here the party who 
were opposed to the usurpation of Leisler jiroceeded to organize a second 
provisional government. Both factions were careful to exercise authority 
in the name of William and INIary, the new sovereigns of England. 

In September of 1689, Milborne, the son-in-law of Leisler, was 
sent to Albany to demand the surrender of the town and fort. Court- 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 177 

land and Bayard, who were the leaders of the northern faction, opposed 
the demand with so much vigor that Milborne was obliged to retire with- 
out accomplishing his object. Such was the condition of affairs at the 
beginning of King William's War. How the village of Schenectady was 
destroyed by the French and Indians, and how an unsuccessful expedition 
by land and water was planned against Quebec and Montreal, has been 
narrated in the history of Massachusetts. Such was the dispiriting effect 
of these disasters upon the people of Albany and the north that a second 
effort made by Milborne against the government of the opposing faction 
was successful ; and in the spring of 1690 the authority of Leisler as tem- 
porary governor of New York was recognized throughout the province. 
The summer was spent in fruitless preparations to invade and conquer 
Canada. The general assembly was convened at the cajjital ; but little 
was accomplished except a formal recognition of the insurrectionary 
government of Leisler. 

In January of 1691, Richard Ingoldsby arrived at New York. 
He bore a commission as captain, and brought the intelligence that Colo- 
nel Sloughter had been appointed royal governor of the province. Leisler 
received Ingoldsby with courtesy, and offered him quarters in the city ; 
but the latter, without authority from either the king or the governor, 
haughtily demanded the surrender of His Majesty's fort. Leisler refused 
to yield, but expressed his willingness to submit to any one who bore 
a commission from King William or Colonel Sloughter. On the 1 9th 
of March the governor himself arrived; and Leisler on the same day 
despatched messengers, tendering his service and submission. The mes- 
eengers were arrested, and Ingoldsby, the enemy and rival of Leisler, was 
sent with verbal orders for the surrender of the fort. Leisler foresaw his 
doom, and hesitated. He wrote a letter to Sloughter, expressing a desire 
to make a personal surrender of the post to the governor. The letter was 
unanswered ; Ingoldsby pressed his demand ; Leisler wavered, capitu- 
lated, and with Milborne was seized and hurried to prison. 

As soon as the royal government was organized the two prisoners 
were brought to trial. The charge Avas rebellion and treason. Dudley, 
the chief-justice of New England, rendered a decision that Leisler had 
been a usurper. The prisoners refused to plead, were convicted and sen- 
tenced to death. Sloughter, however, determined to know the pleasure 
of the king before putting the sentence into execution. But the royalist 
assembly of New York had already come together, and the membei's were 
resolved that the prisoners should be hurried to their death. The governor 
was invited to a banquet ; and when heated with strong drink, the death- 
warrant was thrust before him for his signature. He succeeded in affix- 



178 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ing his name to the fatal parchment ; and almost before the fumes of his 
drunken revel had passed away, his victims had met their fate. On the 
1 6th of May, Leisler and Milborne were brought from prison, led through 
a drenching rain to the scaifold and hanged. Within less than a year 
afterward, their estates, which had been confiscated, were restored to their 
heirs; and in 1695 the attainder of the families was removed. 

The same summer that witnessed the execution of Leisler and 
Milborne was noted for the renewal of the treaty with the Iroquois. At 
Albany, Governor Sloughter met the sachems of the Five Nations, and 
the former terms of fidelity and friendship were reaffirmed. In the fol- 
lowing year the valiant Major Schuyler, at the head of the New York 
militia, joined a war-party of the Iroquois in a successful expedition 
against the French settlements beyond Lake Champlain. Meanwhile, 
the assembly of the province had been in session at the capital. Although 
the representatives were royalists, a resolution was passed against arbitrary 
taxation, and another which declared the people to be a part of the govern- 
ing power of the colony. It was not long until one of the governors had 
occasion to say that the people of New York were growing altogether too 
big with the privileges of Englishmen. 

Soon after his return from Albany, Sloughter's career was cut 
short by death. He was succeeded in the office of governor by Benjamin 
Fletcher, a man of bad passions and poor abilities. The new executive 
arrived in September of 1692. One of the first measures of his adminis- 
tration was to renew the recent treaty with the Iroquois. It Mas at this 
time the avowed purpose of the English monarch to place under a com- 
mon government all the territory between the Connecticut River and 
Delaware Bay. To further this project, Fletcher was armed with an 
ample and comprehensive commission. He was made governor of New 
York, and commander-in-chief not only of the troops of his own province, 
but also of the militia of Connecticut and New Jersey. In the latter 
province he met with little opposition ; but the Puritans of Hartford re- 
sisted so stubbornly that tlie alarmed and disgusted governor was glad to 
return to his own capital. 

The next efibrt of the administration was to establish the Episcopal 
Church in New York. The Dutch and the English colonists of the 
province were still distinct in nationality ; the former, though Calvinists, 
were not unfriendly to the Episcopal service which the Puritans so 
heartily despised. In a religious controversy between Fletcher's council 
and the English, the Dutch, not being partisans of either, looked on with 
comparative indifference. But when the governor was on the point of 
succeeding with his measures, the general assembly interposed, passed a 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 179 

decree of toleration, and brought the pretentious Church to a level with 
the rest. Fletcher gave vent to his indignation by calling his legislators 
a set of unmannerly and insubordinate boors. 

In 1696 the territory of New York was invaded by the French 
under Frontenac, governor of Canada. The faithful Iroquois made com- 
mon cause Avith the colonial forces, and the formidable expedition of the 
French was turned into confusion. Before the loss could be repaired 
and a second invasion undertaken. King William's War was ended by the 
treaty of Ryswick. In the following year, the earl of Bellomont, an 
Irish nobleman of excellent character and popular sympathies, succeeded 
Fletcher in the government of New York. His administration of less 
than four years was the happiest era in the history of the colony. His 
authority, like that of his predecessor, extended over a part of New Eng- 
land. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were under his jurisdiction, 
but Connecticut and Rhode Island remained independent. To this period 
belong the exploits of the famous pirate. Captain William Kidd. 

For centuries piracy had been the connnon vice of the high seas. 
The nations were just now beginning to take active measures for the sup- 
pression of the atrocious crime. The honest and humane Bellomont was 
one who was anxious to see the end of piratical violence. His commission 
contained a clause which authorized the armino; of a vessel to ran^e the 
ocean in pursuit of pirates. The ship was to bear the English flag, and 
was also commissioned as a privateer to prey upon the commerce of the 
enemies of England. The vessel was owned by a company of distin- 
guished and honorable persons ; Governor Bellomont himself was one of 
the proprietors ; and William Kidd received from the English admiralty 
a commission as captain. The ship sailed from England before Bello- 
raont's departure for New York. Hardly had the earl reached his 
province when the news came that Kidd himself had turned pirate and 
become the terror of the seas. For two years he continued his infamous 
career, then appeared publicly in the streets of Boston, was seized, sent 
to England, tried, convicted and hanged. What disposition was made 
of the enormous treasures which the pirate-ship had gathered on the ocean 
has never been ascertained. It has been thought that the vast hoard of 
ill-gotten wealth was buried in the sands of Long Island. Governor 
Bellomont was charged with having shared the booty, but an in- 
vestigation before the House of Commons showed the accusation to be 
groundless. 

In striking contrast Avith the virtues and wisdom of Bellomont 
were the vices and folly of Lord Cornbury, who succeeded him. He 
arrived at New York in the beginning of May, 1702. A mouth 



180 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

previously the proprietors of New Jersey had surrendered their rights 
in the province to the English Crown. All obstacles being thus removed, 
the two colonies were formally united in one government under the 
authority of Cornbury. For a period of thirty-six years the territories, 
though with separate assemblies, continued under the jurisdiction of a 
single executive. 

One of Cornbury's first acts was to forge a clause in his own com- 
mission. Desiring to foster the Established Church, and finding nothing 
to that effect in his instructions, he made instructions for himself. At 
first the people received him with great favor. The assembly voted two 
thousand pounds sterling to compensate him for the expenses of his 
voyage. In order to improve and fortify the Narrows, an additional sum 
of fifteen hundred pounds was granted. The money was taken out of the 
treasury, but no improvement was visilile at the Narrows. The repre- 
sentatives modestly inquired what had become of their revenues. Lord 
Cornbury replied that the assembly of New York had no right to ask 
questions until the queen should give them permission. The old and 
oft-repeated conflict between personal despotism and poj^ular liberty broke 
out anew. The people of the province were still divided on the subject 
of Leisler's insurrection. Cornbury became a violent partisan, favoring 
the enemies and persecuting the friends of that unfortunate leader; and so 
from year to year matters grew constantly worse, until between the gov- 
ernor and his people there existed no relation but that of mutual hatred. 

In 1708 the civil dissensions of the province reached a climax. 
Each succeeding assembly resisted more stubbornly the measures of the 
governor. Time and again the people petitioned for his removal. The 
councilors selected their own treasurer, refused to vote appropriations, 
and curtailed Cornbury's revenues until he was impoverished and ruined. 
Then came Lord Lovelace with a commission from Queen Anne, and the 
passionate, wretched governor was unceremoniously turned out of office. 
Left to the mercy of his injured subjects, they arrested him for debt and 
threw him into prison, where he lay until, by his father's death, he be- 
came a peer of England and could be no longer held in confinement. 

During the progress of Queen Anne's War the troops of New York 
cooperated with the army and navy of New England. Eighteen hun- 
dred volunteers from the Hudson and the Delaware composed the land 
forces in the unsuccessful expedition against INIontreal in the winter of 
1709-10. The provincial army proceeded as far as South River, east 
of Lake George. Here information was received that the English fleet 
which was expected to cooperate in the reduction of Quebec had been 
sent to Portugal ; the armament of New England was insufficient of 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 181 

itself to attempt the conquest of tlie Canadian stronghold ; and the troops 
of New York and New Jersey were obliged to retreat. Again, in 1711, 
when the incompetent Sir Hovenden Walker was pretending to conduct 
his fleet up the St. Lawrence, and was in reality only anxious to get 
away, the army which was to invade Canada by land was furnished by 
New York. A second time the provincial forces reached Lake George ; 
but the dispiriting news of the disaster to Walker's fleet destroyed all 
hope of success, and the discouraged soldiers returned to their homes. 

Failure and disgrace were not the only distressing circumstances 
of these campaigns ; a heavy debt remained to overshadow the prosperity 
of New York and to consume her revenues. For many years the re- 
sources of the province were exhausted in meeting the extraordinary 
expenses of Queen Anne's Avar. In 1713 the treaty of Utrecht put an 
end to the conflict, and peace returned to the American colonies. In this 
year the Tuscaroras of Carolina — a nation of the same race with the Iro- 
quois and Hurons of the North — were defeated and driven from their 
homes by the Southern colonists. The haughty tribe marched north- 
ward, crossed the middle colonies and joined their warlike kinsmen on 
the St. Lawrence, making the sixth nation in the Iroquois confederacy. 
Nine years later a great council was held at Albany. There the grand 
sachems of the Six Nations were met by the governors of New York, 
Pennsylvania and Virginia. An important commercial treaty was 
formed, by which the extensive and profitable fur-trade of the Indians, 
which, until now, had been engrossed by the French, M'as diverted to the 
English. In order to secure the full benefits of this arrangement, Governor 
Burnett of New York hastened to establish a trading-post at OsAvego, on 
the southern shore of Lake Ontario. FiA^e years later a substantial fort 
Avas built at the same place and furnished A\'ith an English garrison. As 
late as the middle of the century, Oswego continued to be tlie only forti- 
fied outpost of the Englisli in the entire country drained by the St. LaAV- 
rence and its tributaries. The French, meauAvhile, had built a strong fort 
at Niagara, and another at CroAvn Point, on the Avestern shore of Lake 
Champlain. The struggle for colonial supremacy betAveen the two nations 
AA'as already beginning. 

The administration of GoA'ernor Cosby, who succeeded Burnett in 
1732, was a stormy epoch in the history of the colony. The jieople Avere 
in a constant struggle with the royal gOA^ernors. At this time the contest 
took the form of a dispute about the freedom of the press. The liberal 
or democratic party of the proAnnce held that a jiublic journal might criti- 
cise the acts of the administration and publish Aaews distasteful to the 
government. The aristocratic party opposed such liberty as a dangerous 



182 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

license, which, if jiermitted, would soon sap the foundations of all au- 
thority. Zenger, an editor of one of the liberal newspapers, published 
hostile criticisms on the policy of the governor, was seized and put in 
prison. Great excitement ensued. The people were clamorous for their 
champion. Andrew Hamilton, a noted lawyer of Philadelphia, went to 
New York to defend Zenger, who was brought to trial in July of 1735. 
The charge was libel against the government ; the cause was ably argued, 
and the jury made haste to bring in a verdict of acquittal. The aldermen 
of the city of New York, in order to testify their appreciation of Hamil- 
ton's services in the cause of liberty, made him a j^resent of an elegant 
gold box, and the people were wild with enthusiasm over their victory. 

New York, like Massachusetts, Avas once visited with a fatal delu- 
sion. In the year 1741 occurred what is known as the Negro Plot. 
Slavery was permitted in the province, and negroes constituted a large 
fraction of the population. Several destructive fires had occurred, and it 
was believed that they had been kindled by incendiaries. The slaves 
were naturally distrusted ; now they became feared and hated. Some 
degraded women came forward and gave information that the negroes 
had made a plot to burn the city, kill all who opposed them, and set up 
one of their own number as governor. The whole story was the essence 
of absurdity ; but the people were alarmed, and were ready to believe 
anything. The re^A'ard of freedom was offered to any slave who would 
reveal the plot. INIany witnesses rushed forward with foolish and contra- 
dictory stories ; the jails were filled with the accused ; and more than 
thirty of the miserable creatures, with hardly the form of a trial, were 
convicted and then hanged or burned to death. Others Avcre transported 
and sold as slaves in foreign lands. As soon as the supposed peril had 
passed and the excited people regained their senses, it came to be doubted 
whether the whole shocking affair had not been the result of terror and 
fanaticism. The verdict of after times has been that there was no ;pht 
at all. 

During the progress of King George's War the territory of New 
York was several times invaded by the French and Indians. But the 
invasions were feeble and easily repelled. Except the abandonment of a 
few villages in the northern part of the State and the destruction of a 
small amount of exposed property, little harm was done to the province. 
The alliance of the fierce Mohawks with the English always made the in- 
vasion of New York by the French an exploit of more danger than profit. 
The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, concluded in 1748, again brought peace 
and prosperity to the people. 

Notwithstanding the central position of New York, her growth 



NEW YORK UNDER THE ENGLISH. 183 

was slow, her development unsteady, and her prospects darkened with 
much adversity. In population she stood, at the outbreak of the 
French and Indian war, but sixth in a list of the colonics. Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia had all 
outstripped her in the race. But the elements of future renown were 
nowhere else more abundantly bestowed. Here at the foot of her 
principal city lay the most convenient and commodious harbor on the 
Atlantic. A magnificent river — draining the country as far as where, 
at Onondaga, burned the great council-fire of the Six Nations — rolled 
down through fruitful valleys to join the waters of the bay. Best of 
all, the people who inhabited the noble province were ever ready to 
resist oppression, bold to defend their rights, and zealous in the cause 
of freedom. 

Such is the history of the little colony planted on Manhattan 
Island. A hundred and thirty years have passed since the first feeble 
settlements were made ; now the great valley of the Hudson is filled with 
beautiful farms and teeming villages. The Walloons of Flanders and 
the Puritans of New England have blended into a common people. Dis- 
cord and contention, though bitter wdiile they lasted, have borne only the 
peaceful fruit of colonial liberty. There are other and greater struggles 
through which New York must pass, other burdens to be borne, other 
calamities to be endured, other fires in which her sons must be tried and 
purified, before they gain their freedom. But the oldest and greatest of 
the middle colonies has entered upon a glorious career, and the ample 
foundations of an Empire State are securely laid. 



COLOXIAL HISTORY.— Continued. 

MINOR EASTERN COLONIES. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

CONNECTICUT. 

THE history of Connecticut begins with the year 1630. The first 
grant of the territory was made by the council of Plymouth to the 
earl of Warwick; and in March of 1631 the claim was transferred by 
him to Lord Say-and-Seal, Lord Brooke, John Hampden and others. 
Before a colony could be planted by the proprietors, the Dutch of New 
Netherland reached the Connecticut River and built at Hartford their 
fort, called the House of Good Hope. The people of Xew Plymouth 
immediately organized and sent out a force to counteract this movement 
of their rivals. The territorial claim of the Puritans extended not only 
over Connecticut, but over New Netherland itself and onward to the 
west. Should the intruding Dutch colonists of Manhattan be allowed 
to move eastward and take possession of the finest valley in New Eng- 
land ? Certainly not. 

The English expedition reached the mouth of the Connecticut and 
sailed up the river. When the little squadron came opposite the House 
of Good Hope, the commander of the garrison ordered Captain Holmes, 
the English officer, to strike his colors; but the order was treated 
with derision. The Dutch threatened to fire in case the fleet should attempt 
to pass ; but the English defiantly hoisted sails and proceeded up the river. 
The puny cannons of the House of Good Hope remained cold and silent. 
At a point just below the mouth of the Farmington, seven miles above 
Hartford, the Puritans landed and built the block-house of Windsor. 

In October of 1635 a colony of sixty persons left Boston, traversed 
the forests of Central jNIassachusetts, and settled at Hartford, Windsor 
and Wethersfield. Earlier in the same year the younger Winthrop, a 

man who in all the virtues of a noble life was a worthy rival of his 

(184) 



CONNECTICUT. 185 

father, the governor of Massachusetts, arrived in New England. He 
bore a commission from the proprietors of the "Western colony to build a 
fort at the mouth of the Connecticut River, and to prevent the further 
encroachments of the Dutch. The fortress was hastily completed and 
the guns mounted just in time to prevent the entrance of a Dutch 
trading-vessel which appeared at the mouth of the river. Such was the 
founding of Saybrook, so named in honor of the proprietors, Lords Say- 
and-Seal and Brooke. Thus was the most important river of New Eng- 
land brought under the dominion of the Puritans ; the solitary Dutch 
settlement at Hartford was cut off from succor and left to dwindle into 
insignificance. 

To the early annals of Connecticut belongs the sad story of the 
Pequod War. The country west of the Tiiames was more thickly 
peopled with savages than any other portion of New England. The 
haughty and warlike Pequods were alone able to muster seven hundred 
W'arriors. The whole eifective force of the English colonists did not 
amount to two hundred men. But the superior numbers of the cunning 
and revengeful savages were more than balanced by the unflinching 
courage and destructive weapons of the English. 

The first act of violence was committed in the year 1633. The 
crew of a small trading- vessel were ambushed and murdered on the banks 
of the Connecticut. An Indian embassy went to Boston to apologize for 
the crime ; the nation was forgiven and received in friendship. A treaty 
was patched up, the Pequods acknowledging the supremacy of the Eng- 
lish and promising to become civilized. The Narragansetts, the heredi- 
tary enemies of the Pequods, had already yielded to the authority of 
INIassachusetts and promised obedience to her laws. A reconciliation was 
thus effected between the two hostile races of savages. But as soon as the 
Pequods were freed from their old fear of the Narragansetts, they began 
to violate their recent treaty with the English. Oldham, the worthy 
captain of a trading- vessel, was murdered near Block Island. A com- 
pany of militia pursued the perpetrators of the outrage and gave them 
a bloody punishment. All the slumbering hatred and suppressed rage 
of the nation burst forth, and the war began in earnest. 

In this juncture of affairs the Pequods attempted a piece of danger- 
ous diplomacy. A persistent effort was made to induce the Narragansetts 
and the Mohegans to join in a war of extermination against the English ; 
and the plot was wellnigh successful. But the heroic Roger "Williams, 
faithful in his misfortunes, sent a letter to Sir Henry Yaxie, governor of 
Massachusetts, warned him of the impending danger, and volunteered his 
services to defeat the conspiracy. The governor replied, urging Williams 



186 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

to use Ills utmost endeavors to thwart the threatened alliance. Embark- 
ing alone in a frail canoe, the exile left Providence, which he had founded 
only a month before, and drifted out into Narragansett Bay. Every mo- 
ment it seemed that the poor little boat with its lonely passenger would be 
swallowed up ; but his courage and skill as an oarsman at last brought 
him to the shore in safety. Proceeding at once to the house of Canonicus, 
king of the Narragansetts, he found the painted and bloody ambassadors 
of the Pequods already there. For three days and nights, at the deadly 
peril of his life, he pleaded with Canonicus and Miantonomoh to reject 
the proposals of the hostile tribe, and to stand fast in their allegiance to 
the English. His noble efforts were successful ; the wavering Narra- 
gansetts voted to remain at peace, and the disappointed Pequod chiefs 
were sent away. 

The Mohegans also rejected the proposed alliance. Uncas, the 
sachem of that nation, not only remained faithful to the whites, but fur- 
nished a party of warriors to aid them against the Pequods. In the 
meantime, repeated acts of violence had roused the colony to vengeance. 
During the winter of 1636-37 many murders were committed in the 
neighborhood of Saybrook. In the following April a massacre occurred 
at Wethersfield, in which nine persons were butchered. On the 1st day 
of May the three towns of Connecticut declared war. Sixty gallant volun- 
teers — one-third of the whole effective force of the colony — were put under 
command of Captain John Mason of Hartford. Seventy Mohegans joined 
the expedition ; and the thoughtful Sir Henry Vane sent Captain Under- 
bill with twenty soldiers from Boston. 

The descent from Hartford to Saybrook occupied one day. On the 
20tli of the month the expedition, sailing eastward, passed the mouth of 
the Thames ; here was the principal seat of the Pequod nation. When 
the savages saw the squadron go by without attempting to land, they set 
up shouts of exultation, and persuaded themselves that the English were 
afraid to hazard battle. But the poor natives had sadly mistaken the 
men with whom they had to deal. The fleet proceeded quietly into 
Narragansett Bay and anchored in the harbor of Wickford. Here the 
troops landed and began their march into the country of the Pequods. 
After one day's advance. Mason reached the cabin of Canonicus and 
Miantonomoh, sachems of the Narragansetts. Them he attempted to 
persuade to join him against the common enemy ; but the wary chieftains, 
knowing the prowess of the Pequods, and fearing that the English might 
be defeated, decided to remain neutral. 

, On the evening of the 25th of May the troops of Connecticut came 
within hearing of the Pequod fort. The unsuspecting warriors spent 



CONNECTICUT. 




SCENE OF THE PEQUOD WAE. 



their last night on earth in uproar and jubilee. At two o'clock in the 
morning the English soldiers rose suddenly from their places of conceal- 
ment and rushed forward to the fort. A dog ran howling among the 
wigwams, and the warriors sprang to 
arms, only to receive a deadly volley 
from the English muskets. The fear- 
less assailants leaped over the puny 
palisades and began the work of 
death ; but the savages rose on every 
side in such numbers that Mason's 
men were about to be overwhelmed. 
" Burn them ! burn them !" shouted 
the dauntless captain, seizing a flaming 
mat and running to the windward of 
the cabins. "Burn them!" resounded on every side; and in a few 
minutes the dry wigwams were one sheet of crackling flame. The Eng- 
lish and Mohegans hastily witlidrew to the ramparts. The yelling savages 
found themselves begirt with fire. They ran round and round like wild 
beasts in a burning circus. If one of the wretched creatures burst tlu'ough 
the flames, it was only to meet certain death from a broadsword or a 
musket-ball. The destruction was complete and awful. Only seven 
warriors escaped ; seven others were made prisoners. Six hundred men, 
' women and children perished, nearly all of them being roasted to death 
in a hideous heap. Before the rising of the sun the pride and glory of 
the Pequods had passed away for ever. Sassacus, the grand sachem of 
the tribe, escaped into the forest, fled for protection to the Mohawks, and 
was murdered. Two of the English soldiers were killed and twenty 
others wounded in the battle. 

In the early morning three hundred Pequods, the remnant of the 
nation, approached from a second fort in the neighborhood. They had 
heard the tumult of battle, and supposed their friends victorious. To their 
utter horror, they found their fortified town in ashes and nearly all their 
proud tribe lying in one blackened pile of half-burnt flesh and bones. 
The savage warriors stamped the earth, yelled and tore their hair in 
desperate rage, and ran howling through the woods. Mason's men re- 
turned by way of New London to Saybrook, and thence to Hartford. 
New troops arrived from Massachusetts. The remnants of the hostile 
nation were pursued into the swamps and thickets west of Saybrook. 
Every wigwam of the Pequods was burned, and every field laid -waste. 
The remaining two hundred panting fugitives were hunted to death or 
captivity. The prisoners were distributed as servants among the Narra- 



188 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

gansetts and INIohegans ; a few were sold as slaves. The first war between 
the English colonists and the natives had ended in the overthrow and 
destruction of one of the most powerful tribes of New England. For 
many years the other nations, when tempted to hostility, remembered the 
fate of the Pequods. 

The final capture of the Pequod fugitives was made at Fairfield, 
on Long Island Sound, fifty miles south-west from Saybrook. The Eng- 
lish thus became better acquainted with the coast west of the mouth of 
the Connecticut. Some men of Boston were delighted with the beautiful 
jjlain between the Wallingford and West Rivers. Here they tarried over 
winter, building some cabins and exploring the country; such was the 
founding of New Haven. Shortly afterward, a Puritan colony from 
England, under the leadership of Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport, 
arrived at Boston. Hearing of the beauty of the country on the sound, 
the new immigrants again set sail, and about the middle of April reached 
New Haven. On the morning of the first Sabbath after their arrival the 
colonists assembled for worship under a spreading oak ; and Davenport, 
their minister, preached a touching and appropriate sermon on The 
Temptatiox in the Wilderness. The next care was to make an 
honorable purchase of land from the Indians — a policy which was ever 
afterward faithfully adhered to by the colony. For the first year there 
was no government except a simple covenant, into which the settlers 
entered, that all would be obedient to the rules of Scripture. 

In June of 1639 the leading men of New Haven held a convention 
in a barn, and formally adopted the Bible as the constitution of the State. 
Everything was strictly conformed to the religious standard. The govern- 
ment was called the House of Wisdom, of which Eaton, Davenport and 
five others were the seven Pillars. None but church members were ad- 
mitted to the rights of citizenship. All offices were to be filled by the 
votes of the freemen at an annual election. For twenty years consecu- 
tively, Mr. Eaton — first and greatest of the pillars — was chosen governor 
of the colony. Other settlers came, and pleasant villages sprang up on 
both shores of Long Island Sound. 

Civil government began in Connecticut in the year 1639. Until 
that time the Western colonics had been subject to ]\Iassachusetts, and 
had scarcely thought of independence. But when the soldiers of Hartford 
returned victorious from the Pequod war, the exulting people began to 
think of a separate commonwealth. If they could fight their own battles, 
could they not make their own laws? Delegates from the three towns 
came together at Hartford, and on the 14th of January a constitution was 
framed for the colony. The new instrument was one of the most simple 



CONNECTICUT. 189 

and liberal ever adopted. An oath of allegiance to the State was the 
only qualification of citizenship. No recognition of the English king or 
of any foreign authority was required. Different religious opinions were 
alike tolerated and respected. All the officers of the colony were to be 
chosen by ballot at an annual election. The law-making power was 
vested in a general assembly, and the representatives were apportioned 
among the towns according to population. Neither Saybrook nor New 
Haven adopted this constitution, by M'hich the other colonies in the valley 
of the Connecticut were united in a common government. 

In 1 643, Connecticut became a member of the Union of New Eng- 
land. Into this confederacy New Haven was also admitted ; and in the 
next year Saybrook was purchased of George Feuwick, one of the pro- 
prietors, and permanently annexed to Connecticut^ The anticipated diffi- 
culties with the Dutch of New Netherland had made the colonics of the 
West anxious for a closer union with Massachusetts. The fears of the 
jjeople were not entirely quieted until 1650, when Governor Stuyvesant 
met the commissioners of Connecticut at Hartford, and established the 
western boundary of the province. This measure promised peace ; but in 
1651 war broke out between England and Holland, and notwithstanding 
the recent pledges of friendship. New England and New Netherland were 
wcllnigh drawn into the conflict. Stuyvesant was suspected of inciting 
the Indians against the English ; a declaration of war was proposed be- 
fore the delegates of the united colonies, and was only prevented from 
passing by the veto of JNIassachusetts. Left without support, Connecticut 
and New Haven next sought aid from Cromwell, who entered heartily 
into the project and sent out a fleet to co-operate with the colonists in the 
reduction of New Netherland. But while the western towns were busily 
preparing for war, the news of peace arrived, and hostilities were happily 
averted. 

On the restoration of monarchy in England, Connecticut made 
haste to recognize King Charles as rightful sovereign. It was as much 
an act of sound policy as of loyal zeal. The people of the Connecticut 
valley were eager for a royal charter. They had conquered the Pequods ; 
they had bought the lands of the INIohegans ; they had purchased the 
claims of the earl of Warwick ; it only remained to secure all these 
acquisitions with a patent from the king. The infant republic selected 
its best and truest man, the scholarly younger Winthrop, and sent him 
as ambassador to London. He bore with him a charter which had been 
carefully prepared by the authorities of Hartford ; the problem was to 
induce the king to sign it. 

The aged Lord Say-and-Seal, for many years the friend and bene- 



190 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



factor of the colony, was now an important officer of the Crown. To him 
Winthrop delivered a letter, unfolded his plans and appealed for help ; 
and the appeal was not in vain. The earl of ^Manchester, lord chamber- 
lain to the king, was induced to lend his aid. Winthrop easily obtained 
an audience with the sovereign, and did not fail to show him a ring 
Avhich Charles I. had given as a pledge of friendship to Winthrop's 
grandfather. The little token so moved the wayward monarch's feelings 

that in a moment 
of careless mag- 
nanimity he signed 
the colonial charter 
without the alter- 
ation of a letter. 
Winthrop returned 
to the rejoicing col- 
ony, bearing a pat- 
ent the most liberal 
and ample ever 
granted by an Eng- 
lish monarch. The 
power of govern- 
ing themselves ^^■as 
conferred on the 
people without 
qualification or re- 
striction. Every 
riffht of sovereio:n- 
ty and of inde- 
pendence, except 
the name, was con- 
ceded to the new State. The territory included under the charter ex- 
tended from the bay and river of the Narragansetts westward to the 
Pacific. The people who had built the House of Wisdom at New 
Haven now found themselves the unwilling subjects of the new com- 
monwealth of Connecticut. 

For fourteen years the excellent Winthrop was annually chosen 
governor of the colony. Every year added largely to the population and 
wealth of the province. The civil and religious institutions were the 
freest and best in New England. Peace reigned -, the husbandman was 
undisturbed in the field, the workman in his shop. Even during King 
Pliili|)'s War, Connecticut was saved from invasion. Not a war-whoop 




THK YOUNGER WINTHROP. 



CONNECTICUT. 191 

was heard, not a liamlet burned, not a life lost, within her borders. Her 
soldiers made common cause with their brethren of Massachusetts and 
Ehode Island; but their own homes were saved from the desolations 
of war. 

In July of 1675, Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of New York, 
arrived with an armed sloop at the mouth of the Connecticut. Orders 
were sent to Captain Bull, who commanded the fort at Saybrook, to sur- 
render his post; but the brave captain replied by hoisting the flag of 
England and assuring the bearer of the message that his master would 
better retire. Andros, however, landed and came to a jjarlcy with the 
officers of the fort. He began to read his commission, but was ordered 
to stop. In vain did the arrogant magistrate insist that the dominions 
of the duke of York extended from the Connecticut to the Delaware. 
" Connecticut has her own charter, signed by His Gracious Majesty King 
Charles II.," said Captain Bull. " Leave off your reading, or take the 
consequences!" The argument prevailed, and iho. red-coated governor, 
trembling with rage, was escorted to his boat by a company of Saybrook 
militia. 

In 1686, when Andros was made royal governor of Xew England, 
Connecticut was again included in his jurisdiction. The first year of his 
administration was spent in establishing his authority in Massachusetts, 
Rhode Island and New Hampshire. In the following October he made 
his famous visit to Hartford. On the day of his arrival he invaded the 
provincial assembly while in session, seized the book of minutes, and with 
his own hand wrote Finis at the bottom of the page. He demanded the 
immediate surrender of the colonial charter. Governor Treat pleaded 
long and earnestly for the preservation of the precious document. Andros 
was inexorable. The shades of evening fell. Joseph Wadsworth found 
in the gathering darkness an opportunity to conceal the cherished parch- 
ment — a deed which has made his own name and the name of a tree 
immortal. Two years later, when the government of Andros was over- 
thrown, Connecticut made haste to restore her liberties. 

In the autumn of 1693, another attempt was made to subvert the 
freedom of the colony. Fletcher, the governor of New York, Mcnt to 
Hartford to assume command of the militia of the province. He bore 
a commission from King William ; but by the terms of the charter the 
right of commanding the troops was vested in the colony itself. The 
general assembly refused to recognize the authority of Fletcher, ^^ho, 
nevertheless, ordered the soldiers under arms and proceeded to read his 
commission as colonel. " Beat the drums !" shouted Captain Wadsworth, 
who stood at the head of the company. " Silence I" said Fletcher ; the 



192 . HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

drums ceased, and the reading began again. " Drum ! drum !" cried 
Wadswortli ; and a second time the voice of the reader was drowned 
in the uproar. " Silence ! silence !" shouted the enraged governor. The 
dauntless AVadsworth stepped before the ranks and said, "Colonel 
Fletcher, if I am interrupted again, I will let the sunshine through your 
body in an instant." That ended the controversy. Benjamin Fletcher 
thought it better to be a living governor of New York than a dead 
colonel of the Connecticut militia. 

" I give these books for the founding of a college in this colony." 
Such were the words often ministers who, in the year 1700, assembled at 
the village of Branford, a few miles east of New Haven. Each of the 
worthy fathers, as he uttered the words, deposited a few volumes on the 
table around which they were sitting ; such was the founding of Yale 
College. In 1702 the school was formally oj)ened at Saybrook, where 
it continued for fifteen years, and Avas then removed to New Haven. 
One of the most liberal patrons of the college was Elihu Yale, from whom 
the famous institution of learning derived its name. Common schools 
had existed in almost every village of Connecticut since the planting 
of the colony. The children of the Pilgrims have never forgotten the 
cause of education. 

The half century preceding the French and Indian war was a 
period of prosperity to all the western districts of New England. Con- 
necticut was especially favored. Almost unbroken peace reigned through- 
out her borders. The blessings of a free commonwealth were realized in 
full measure. The farmer reaped his fields in cheerfulness and hope. 
The mechanic made glad his dusty sho}> with anecdote and song. The 
merchant feared no duty, the villager no taxes. Want was unknown and 
pauperism unheard of Wealth was little cared for and crime of rare 
occurrence among a people with whom intelligence and virtue were the 
only foundations of nobility. With fewer dark pages in her history, less 
austerity of manners and greater liberality of sentiment, Connecticut had 
all the lofty purposes and shining virtues of Massachusetts. The visions 
of Hooker and Haynes, and the dreams of the quiet Winthrop, were more 
than realized in the happy homes of the Connecticut valley. 



RHODE ISLAND. 193 



CHAPTER XXII. 
RHODE ISLAND. 

IT was In June of 1636 that the exiled Roger "Williams left the country 
of the Wampanoags and passed doA^-n the Seekonk to Xarragansett 
River. His object was to secure a safe retreat beyond the limits of Ply- 
mouth colony. He, with his five companionSj landed on the western 
bank, at a place called Moshassuck, purchased the soil of the Xarragansett 
sachems, and laid the foundations of Providence. Other exiles joined the 
company. New farms were laid out, new fields were ploughed and new 
houses built ; here, at last, was found at Providexce Plantation a 
refuge for all the distressed and persecuted. 

The leader of the new colony was a native of Wales ; born in 1606 ; 
liberally educated at Cambridge ; the pupil of Sir Edward Coke ; in after 
years the friend of Milton ; a dissenter ; a hater of ceremonies ; a disciple 
of truth in its purest forms; an uncompromising advocate of freedom; 
exiled to JNIassachusetts, and now exiled by Massachusetts, he brought 
to the banks of the Narragansett the great doctrines of pei'fect religious 
liberty and the equal rights of men. If the area of Rhode Island had 
corresponded with the grandeur of the principles on which she was 
founded, who could have foretold her destiny ? 

Roger Williams belonged to that most radical body of dissenters 
called Anabaptists. By them the validity of infant baptism was denied. 
Williams himself had been baptized in infancy ; but his vieAvs in regard 
to the value of the ceremony had undergone a change during his ministry 
at Salem, Now that he had freed himself from all foreign authority both 
of Church and State, he conceived it to be his duty to receive a second 
baptism. But who should perform the ceremony? Ezekiel Holliman, 
a layman, was selected for the sacred duty. Williams meekly received 
the rite at the hands of his friend, and then in turn baptized him and ten 
other exiles of the colony. Such was the organization of the first 
Baptist Church in America. 

The beginning of civil government in Rhode Island was equally 
simple and democratic. Mr. Williams was the natural ruler of the little 
province, but he reserved for himself neither wealth nor privilege. The 

13 



19-i HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

lands which he purcliased from Canonicus and ]Miantonomoh were freely 
distributed among the colonists. Only two small fields, to be planted 
and tilled with his own hands, were kept by the benevolent founder for 
himself. How diiferent from the grasping avarice of Wingfield and Lord 
Cornbury ! All the powers of the colonial government were entrusted to 
the people. A simple agreement was made and signed by the settlers that 
in all matters not affecting the conscience they would yield a cheerful 
obedience to such rules as the majority might make for the public welfare. 
In questions of religion the individual conscience sliould be to every man 
a guide. When Massachusetts objected that such a democracy would leave 
nothing for the magistrates to do, Rhode Island answered that magistrates 
were wellnigh useless. 

The new government stood the test of experience. The evil prophe- 
cies of its enezuics were unfulfilled ; instead of predicted turmoil and dis- 
sension, Providence Plantation had nothing but peace and quiet. It was 
found that all religious sects could live together in harmony, and that 
difference of opinion was not a bar to friendship. All beliefs were wel- 
come at Narragansett Bay. A Buddhist from Japan or a pagan from 
Madagascar would have been received at Providence and cordially enter- 
tained. Miantonomoh, the young sachem of the Narragansetts, loved 
Roger Williams as a brother. It was the confidence of this chieftain that 
enabled Williams to notify Massachusetts of the Pequod conspiracy, and 
then at the hazard of his life to defeat the plans of the hostile nation. 
This magnanimous act awakened the old affections of his friends at Salem 
and Plymouth, and an effort Avas made to recall him and his fellow-exiles 
from banishment. It was urged that a man of such gracious abilities, so 
full of patience and charity, could never be dangerous in a State ; but his 
enemies answered that the principles and teachings of Williams would 
subvert the commonwealth and bring Massachusetts to ruin. The pro- 
posal was rejected. The ancient Greeks sometimes recalled their exiled 
heroes from banishment ; the colony of ISIassachusetts, never. 

During the Pequod war of 1637, Rhode Island was protected by the 
friendly Narragansetts. The territory of this powerful tribe lay between 
Providence and the country of the Pequods, and there was little fear of 
an invasion. The next year was noted for the arrival of Mrs. Hutchinson 
and her friends at the island of Rhode Island. The leaders of the com- 
pany were John Clarke and William Coddington. It had been their 
intention to conduct the colony to Long Island, or perhaps to the country 
of the Delaware. But Roger Williams made haste to welcome them 
to his province, where no man's conscience might be distressed. Gov- 
ernor Vane of Massachusetts, sympathizing with the refugees, prevailed 



RHODE ISLAND. 



195 




with Miantonomoh to make them a gift of Rhode Island. Here, in the 
early spring of 1638, the colony was planted. The first settlement Avas 
made at Portsmouth, in the 

northern part of the island. — ^ ^fc 

Other exiles came to join their ^ 

friends, and civil government 
was thought desirable. The 
Jewish nation furnished the 
model. William Coddington 
was chosen judge in the new 
Israel of Narragansett Bay, 
and three elders were ap- 
pointed to assist him in the 
government. In the follow- 
ing year th^ title of judge 
gave way to that of governor, 
and the administration be- 
came more modern in its 
methods. At the same time 
a party of colonists removed 
from Portsmouth, already 
crowded with exiles, to the 

south-western part of the island, and laid the foundations of Newport. 
Hither had come, more than six hundred years before, the hardy adven- 
turers of Iceland. Here had been a fivorite haunt of the wayward sea- 
kings of the eleventh century. Here, in sight of the new settlement, 
stood the old stone tower, the most celebrated monument left by the 
Norsemen in America. 

The island was soon peopled. The want of civil government began 
to be felt as a serious inconvenience. Mr. Coddington's new Israel had 
proved an utter failure. In March of 1641 a public meeting was con- 
vened ; the citizens came together on terms of perfect equality, and the 
task of framing a constitution was undertaken. In three days the instru- 
ment Mas completed. The government was declared to be a " Demo- 
CRACIE," or government by the people. The supreme authority was 
lodged with the whole body of freemen in the island ; and freemen, in 
this instance, meant everj'body. The vote of the majority should always 
rule. No soul should be distressed on account of religions doctrine. 
Liberty of conscience, even in the smallest particular, should be uni- 
versally respected. A seal of State was ordered, having for its design 
a sheaf of arrows and a motto of Amor vixcet o.mnia. The little 



THE OLD STONE TOWER AT NEWPORT. 



196 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

republic of Narragansett Baj was named the Plantation of Rhode 
Island. 

In 1643 was formed the Union of New England. Providence and 
Rhode Island both pleaded for admission, and both were rejected. The 
meaning of this illiberal action on the part of the older and more power- 
ful colonies was that the settlements on the Narragansett belonged to the 
jurisdiction of Plymouth. Alarmed at the prospect of being again put 
under the dominion of their persecutors, the exiled republicans of Rhode 
Island determined to appeal to the English government for a charter. 
Roger Williams was accordingly appointed agent of the two plantations 
and sent to London. He was cordially received by his old and steadfast 
friend Sir Henry Vane, now an influential member of Parliament. The 
plea of Rhode Island was heard with favor; and on the 14th of March 
in the following year the coveted charter was granted. Great was the 
rejoicing when the successful ambassador returned to his people. The 
grateful colonists met their benefactor at Seekonk, and conducted him to 
Providence with shouts and exultation. Rhode Island had secured her 
independence. 

The first general assembly of the province was convened at Ports- 
mouth, in 1647. The new government was organized in strict accordance 
with the provisions of the charter. A code of laws was framed; the 
principles of democracy were reaffirmed, and full religious toleration and 
freedom of conscience guaranteed to all. A president and subordinate 
officers were chosen, and Rhode Island began her career as an independent 
colony. 

Once the integrity of the province was endangered. In 1651, 
William Coddington, avIio had never been satisfied with the failure of his 
Jewish commonwealth, succeeded in obtaining from the English council 
of state a decree by which the island of Rhode Island was separated from 
the common government. But the zealous protests of John Clarke and 
Roger Williams, who went a second time to London, prevented the dis- 
union, and the decree of separation was revoked. The grateful people 
now desired that their magnanimous benefactor should be commissioned 
by the English council as governor of the province ; but the blind grat- 
itude of his friends could not prevail over the wisdom of the prudent 
leader. He foresaw the danger, and refused the tempting commission. 
Roger Williams was proof against all the seductions of ambition. 

The faithful Clarke remained in England to guard the interests of 
the colony. It was not long until his services were greatly needed. The 
restoration of monarchy occurred in 1660. Charles II. came home in 
triumph from his long exile. Rhode Island had accepted a charter from 



RHODE ISLAND. 107 

the Lono; Parliament : that Parliament had driven Charles I. from his 
throne, had made war upon him, beaten him in battle, imprisoned him, 
beheaded him. Was it likely that the son of that monarch would allow a 
colonial charter issued by the Long Parliament to stand ? Would he not 
with vindictive scorn dash the patent of the little republic out of exist- 
ence ? The people of Rhode Island had hardly the courage to plead for the 
preservation of their liberty ; but taking heart, they wrote a loyal petition 
to the new sovereign, praying for the renewal of their charter. To their in- 
finite delight, and to the wonder of after times, the king listened with favor ; 
Clarendon, the minister, assented; and on the 8th of July, 16G3, the 
charter was reissued. The freedom of the colony was in no wise restricted. 
All the liberal provisions of the parliamentary patent were revived. Not 
even an oath of allegiance was required of the people. 

On the 24th of November the island of Rhode Island was thronged 
Avith people. George Baxter had come with the charter. Opening the 
box that contained it, he held aloft the precious parchment. There, sure 
enough, was the signature of King Charles II. There was His Majesty's 
royal stamp ; there was the broad seal of England. The charter was read 
aloud to the joyful people. The little "deraocracie" of Rhode Island 
was safe. The happy colonists were not to blame when they began their 
letter of thanks as follows: "To King Charles of England, for his high 
and inestimable — yea, incomparable — favor." 

For nearly a quarter of a century Rhode Island prospered. The 
distresses of King Philip's War were forgotten. Roger Williams grew 
old and died. At last came Sir Edijiund Andros, the enemy of New 
England. After overthrowing the liberties of Massachusetts, he next 
demanded the surrender of the charter of Rhode Island. The demand 
was for a while evaded by Governor Walter Clarke and the colonial as- 
sembly. But Andros, not to be th^^'artcd, repaired to Newi)ort, dissolved 
the government and broke the seal of the colony. Five irresponsible 
councilors were appointed to control the affairs of the province, and the 
commonwealth was in ruins. 

But the usurpation was as brief as it was shameful. In the spring 
of 1689 the news was borne to Rhode Island that James II. had abdi- 
cated the throne of England, and that Andros and his officers were pris- 
oners at Boston. On ]\Iay-day the people rushed to Newport and made 
a proclamation of their gratitude for the great deliverance. Walter Clarke 
was reelected governor, but was fearful of accepting. Almy was elected, 
and also declined. Then an old Quaker, named Henry Bull, more than 
eighty years of age, was chosen. He was one of the founders of the colony. 
He had known Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. Should he, in 



198 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

his gray hairs, through fear and timidity, refuse the post of danger ? The 
old veteran accepted the trust, and spent his last days in restoring the 
liberties of Rhode Island. 

Again the little State around the Bay of Narragansett was pros- 
perous. For more than fifty years the peace of the colony was undis- 
turbed. The principles of the illustrious founder became the principles 
of the commonwealth. The renown of Rhode Island has not been in 
vastness of territory, in mighty cities or victorious armies, but in a stead- 
fast devotion to truth, justice and freedom. 



CHAPTER XXIII, 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



IN the year 1622 the territory lying between the rivers Merrimac and 
Kennebec, reaching from the sea to the St. Lawrence, was granted 
by the council of Plymouth to Sir Ferdinand Gorges and John Mason. 
The history of New Hampshire begins with the following year. For the 
proprietors made haste to secure their new domain by actual settlements. 
In the early spring of 1623 two small companies of colonists were sent 
out by Mason and Gorges to people their province. The coast of New 
Hampshire had first been visited by Martin Pring in 1603. Eleven 
years later the restless Captain Smith explored the spacious harbor at 
the mouth of the Piscataqua, and spoke with delight of the deep and 
tranquil waters. 

One party of the new immigrants landed at Little Harbor, two 
miles south of the present site of Portsmouth, and began to build a village. 
The other party proceeded up stream, entered the Cocheco, and, four miles 
above the mouth of that tributary, laid the foundations of Dover. With 
the exception of Plymouth and Weymouth, Portsmouth and Dover are 
the oldest towns in New England. But the progress of the settlements 
was slow; for many years the two villages were only fishing-stations. 
In 1629 the proprietors divided their dominions. Gorges retaining the 
part north of the Piscataqua, and Mason taking exclusive control of the 
district between the Piscataqua and the Merrimac. In May of this year, 
Rev. John Wheelwright, who soon afterward became a leader in the party 
of Anne Hutchinson, visited the Abenaki chieftains, and purchased their 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 199 

claims to the soil of the whole territory held by Mason ; but in the fol- 
lowing November, Mason's title was confirmed by a second patent from 
the council, and the name of the province was changed from Laconia to 
New Hampshire. Very soon Massachusetts began to urge her chartered 
rights to the district north of the Merrimac ; already the claims to the 
jurisdiction of the new colony were numerous and conflicting. 

In November of 1635, Mason died, and his widow undertook the 
government of the province. But the expenses of the colony were greater 
than the revenues ; the chief tenants could not be paid for their services ; 
and after a few years of mismanagement the territory was given up to the 
servants and dependents of the late proprietor. Such was the condition 
of affairs when Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends were banished from 
Boston. Wheelwright, who was of the number, now found use for the 
lands which he had purchased in New Hampshire. When Clarke and 
Coddington, leading the greater number of the exiles, set out for Rhode 
Island, Wheelwright, with a small party of friends, repaired to the banks 
of the Piscataqua. At the head of tide-water on that stream they halted, 
and founded the village of Exeter. The little colony was declared a 
republic, established on the principle of equal right and universal toler- 
ation. 

The proposition to unite New Hampshire with ]\Iassachusetts was 
received with favor by the people of both colonies. The liberal provisions 
of the Body of Liberties, adopted by the older province in 1641, excited 
the villagers of the Piscataqua, and made them anxious to join the desti- 
nies of the free commonwealth of Massachusetts. A union was immedi- 
ately proposed ; on the 14th of the following April terms of consolidation 
were agreed on, and New Hampshire, by the act of her o\\ti jDCople, was 
united with the older colony. It is worthy of special notice that the law 
of Massachusetts restricting the rights of citizenship to church members 
was not extended over the new province. The people of Portsmouth and 
Dover belonged to the Church of England, and it was deemed unjust to 
discriminate against them on account of their religion. New Hampshire 
was the only colony east of the Hudson not originally founded by the 
Puritans. 

The union continued in force until 1679. In the mean time the 
heirs of Mason had revived the claim of the old proprietor of the province. 
The cause had been duly investigated in the courts of England, and in 
1677 a decision was reached that the Masonian claims were invalid as to 
the civil jurisdiction of New Hampshire, but valid as to the soil — that is, the 
heirs were the lawful owners, but not the lawful governors, of the territory. 
It was evident from the character of this decision that Kino; Charles in- 



200 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tended to assert his own right of government over New Hampshire, and 
at the same time to confer the ownership of the soil upon the represent- 
atives of Mason. Nor was the province long left in doubt as to the kiug's 
intentions. On the 24th of July, 1679, a decree was published by Avhich 
New Hampshire was separated from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and 
organized as a distinct royal province. The excuse was that the claims 
of the Masons against the farmers of New Hampshire would have to be 
determined in colonial courts, and that colonial courts could not be estab- 
lished without the organization of a separate colony. It was clearly fore- 
seen that in such trials the courts of INIassachusetts would always decide 
against the Masons. The purpose of the king became still more apparent 
when Robert Mason, himself the largest claimant of all, was allowed to 
nominate a governor for the province : Edward Craufield was selected for 
that office. 

The people of New Hampshire M'ere greatly excited by the threatened 
destruction of their liberties. Before Cranfield's arrival the rugged saw- 
yers and lumbermen of the Piscataqua had convened a general assembly 
at Portsmouth. The first resolution which was passed by the represent- 
atives showed the spirit of colonial resistance in full force. " No act, im- 
position, law or ordinance," said the sturdy legislators, "shall be valid 
unless made by the assembly and approved by the people." When the 
indignant king heard of this resolution, he declared it to be both wicked 
and absurd. It was not the first time that a monarch and his people had 
disagreed. 

In November of 1682, Cranfield dismissed the popular assembly. 
Such a despotic act had never before been attempted in New England. 
The excitement ran high ; the governor was openly denounced, and his 
claims for rents and forfeitures were stubbornly resisted. At Exeter the 
sheriff was beaten with clubs. The farmers' wives met the tax-gatherers 
with pailfulls of hot water. At the village of Hampton, Cranfield's 
deputy was led out of town with a rope round his neck. When the 
governor ordered out the militia, not a man obeyed the summons. It was 
in the midst of these broils that Cranfield, unable to collect his rents and 
vexed out of his wits, wrote to England begging for the privilege of going 
home. The "unreasonable" people who were all the time caviling at his 
commission and denying his authority were at length freed from his 
presence. 

An effort was now made to restore New Hampshire to the jurisdiction 
of Massachusetts ; but before this could be done the charter of the latter 
province had been taken away and Edmund Andros appointed governor 
of all New England. The colonies north of the Merrimac, seeing that 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 201 

even JNIassachusetts had been brought to submission, offered no resistance 
to Andros, but quietly yielded to his authorit}^ Until the English revo- 
lution of 1688, and the consequent downfall of Andros, New Hampshire 
remained under the dominion of the royal governor. But when he was 
seized and imprisoned by the citizens of Boston, the people of the northern 
towns also rose in rebellion and reasserted their freedom. A jreneral as- 
sembly was convened at Portsmouth in the spring of 1690, and an ordi- 
nance -was at once passed reannexing New Hampshire to Massachusetts. 
But in August of 1692 this action M'as annulled by the English govern- 
ment, and the two provinces were a second time separated against the 
protests of the people. In 1698, when the earl of Bellomont came out as 
royal governor of New York, his commission was made to include both 
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. For a period of forty-two years the 
two provinces, though retaining their separate legislative assemblies, con- 
tinued under the authority of a common executive. Not until 1741 was 
a final separation effected between the colonies north and south of the 
Mcrrimac. 

]\Ieanwhile, the heirs of IMason, embarrassed with delays and vexed 
by opposing claimants, had sold to Samuel Allen, of London, their title 
to New Hampshire. To him, in 1691, the old Masonian patent was 
transferred. His son-in-law, named Usher, a land speculator of Boston, 
was appointed deputy governor. The new proprietor made a long and 
futile effort to enforce his claim to the lands of the province, but was ewevy- 
where resisted. Lawsuits were begun in the colonial courts, but no 
judgments could be obtained against the occupants of lands ; all efforts to 
drive the farmers into the payment of rents or the surrender of their 
homes were unavailing. For many years the history of New Hampshire 
contains little else than a record of strife and contention. Finally, Allen 
died; and in 1715, after a struggle of a quarter of a century, his heirs 
abandoned their claim in despair. A few years afterward one of the de- 
scendants of Mason discovered that the deed which his kinsmen had made 
to Allen was defective. The original INIasonian patent was accordingly 
revived, and a last effort was made to secure possession of the province, 
but was all in vain. The colonial government had now grown strong 
enough to defend the rights of its people, and the younger Masons were 
obliged to abandon their pretensions. In the final adjustment of this 
long-standing difficulty the colonial authorities allowed the validity of 
the jNIasonian patent as to the unoccupied jwrtions of the territory, and 
the heirs made a formal surrender of their claims to all the rest. 

Of all the New England colonies. New Hampshire suffered most 
from the French and Indian Wars. Her settlements were feeble, and her 



202 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

territory most exposed to savage invasion. In the last year of King 
Philip's War the suffering along the frontier of the province was very 
great. Again, in the wars of William, Anne and George, the villages of 
the northern colony were visited with devastation and ruin. But in the 
intervals of peace the spirits of the people revived, and the hardy settlers 
returned to their wasted farms to begin anew the struggle of life. Out 
of these conflicts and trials came that sturdy and resolute race of pioneers 
who bore such a heroic part in the greater contests of after years. 

Such is the story of the planting, progress, and development of 
New England. Hither had come, in the beginning, a people of sober 
habits, frugal lives, and lofty purposes. Before their imagination was 
one vision — the vision of freedom. And freedom to the men who laid 
the foundations of civilization in New England meant the breaking off 
of every species of thralldom. These people came to the New World 
to stay. They voluntarily chose the wilderness with its forests, and 
snows, and savages. For forests, and snows, and savages Avere l^etter 
than luxury with despotism. In Virginia as late as the middle of the 
eighteenth century many of the planters still looked fondly across the 
ocean and spoke of England as their " home." Not so with the peo- 
ple whose hamlets were scattered from the Penobscot to the Housa- 
tonic. With them the humble cabin in the frozen woods under the 
desolate sky of winter was a cheerful and sunny " home " — if only 
Fkeedom was written on the threshold. 



COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. 

MINOR MIDDLE COLONIES. 



CHAPTER XXiy. 

NEW JERSEY. 

THE colonial history of Xew Jersey properly begins with the found- 
ing of Elizabethtown, in 1664. As early as 1618 a feeble trading 
station had been established at Bergen, west of the Hudson ; but forty 
years elapsed before permanent dwellings were built in that neigh- 
borhood. In 1623 the block-house, called Fort Nassau, Avas erected 
at the mouth of Timber Creek, on the Delaware ; after a few months' 
occupancy. May and his companions abandoned the place and returned 
to New Amsterdam. Six years later the southern part of the present 
State of New Jersey was granted to Godyn and BlomaertI, two of the 
Dutch patroons ; but no settlement w^as made. In 1634 there was 
not a single European living between Delaware Bay and the fortieth 
degree of latitude. In 1651 a considerable district, including the site 
of Elizabethtown, was purchased by Augustine Herman ; but still no 
colony was planted. Seven years afterwards a larger grant, embracing 
the old trading house at Bergen, was made; and in 1663 a company 
of Puritans, living on Long Island, obtained permission of Governor 
Stuy vcsant to settle on the banks of the Raritan ; but no settlement 
was effected until after the conquest. 

All the territory of New Jersey was included in the grant made by 
King Charles to his brother the duke of York. Two months before the 
conquest of New Netherland by the English, that portion of the duke's 
province lying between the Hudson and the Delaware, extending as far 
north as forty-one degrees and forty minutes, was assigned by the proprietor 
to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. These noblemen were already 
proprietors of Carolina ; but they had adhered to the king's cause during 
the civil war in England, and were now rewarded with a second Amer- 
ican province. Almost immediately after the conquest another company 
of Puritans made application to Governor Nicolls, and received an exten- 
sive grant of land on Newark Bay. The Indian titles were honorably 

(203j 



204 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

purchased; in the following October a village Avas begun and named 
Elizabethtown, in honor of Lady Carteret. 

In August of 1665, Philip Carteret, son of Sir George, arrived as 
governor of the province. At first he was violently opposed by Nicolls 
of New York, who refused to believe that the duke had divided his terri- 
tory. But Carteret was armed with a commission, and could not be pre- 
vented from taking possession of the new settlements below the Hudson. 
Elizabethtown was made the capital of the colony; other immigrants 
arrived from Long Island and settled on the banks of the Passaic ; New- 
ark was founded ; flourishing hamlets appeared on the shores of the bay 
as far south as Sandy Hook. In honor of Sir George Carteret, who had 
been governor of the Isle of Jersey, in the English Channel, his American 
domain was named New Jersey. 

Experience had taught the proprietors wisdom ; they had learned 
that freedom is essential to the prosperity of a colony, and that liberal 
concessions to the people are better than great outlays of money. Berke- 
ley and Carteret, though royalists themselves, provided for their new State 
an excellent constitution. Person and property were put under the protec- 
tion of law. The government was made to consist of a governor, a council 
and a popular legislative assembly. There should be no taxation unless 
levied by the representatives of the people. DiflPerence of opinion should 
be respected, and freedom of conscience guaranteed to every citizen. The 
proprietors reserved to themselves only the right of annulling objection- 
able acts of the assembly and of appointing the governor and colonial 
judges. The lands of the province were distributed to the settlers for a 
quit-rent of a half penny per acre, not to be paid until 1670. 

In 1668 the first general assembly convened at Elizabethtown. 
Nearlv all the representatives were Puritans, and the laws and customs 
of New England were thus early impressed on the legislation of the 
colony. Affairs went well until 1670, when the half-penny quit-rents were 
due to the proprietors. The colonists, in the mean time, had purchased 
their lands of the Indians, and also of Governor Nicolls of New York, 
Avho still claimed New Jersey as a part of his province. To the settlers, 
therefore, it seemed that their titles to their farms were good without 
further payment to Philip Carteret or anybody else. The collection of 
the rents was accordingly resisted ; and the colony became a scene first of 
strife and then of revolution. In May of 1672 the colonial assembly 
convened and deposed the governor from office. James Carteret, another 
son of Sir George, was chosen governor, and Philip returned to England. 

In 1673 the Dutch succeeded in retaking New York from the Eng- 
lish. For a few months the old province of New Netherland, including 



NEW JERSEY. 



205 



the country as far south as the Delaware, was restored to Holland. But 
in the next year the whole territory was re-ceded by the states-general to 
England. The duke of York now received from his brother, the king, 
a second patent for the country between the Connecticut and the Delaware, 
and at the same time confirmed his former grant of New Jersey to Berke- 
ley and Carteret. Then, in utter disregard of the rights of the two jjro- 
prietors, the duke appointed Sir Edmund Andros as royal governor of 
the whole province. Carteret determined to defend his claim against the 
authority of Andros ; but Lord Berkeley, disgusted with the duke's vacil- 
lation and dishonesty, sold his interest in New Jersey to John Fenwick, 
to be held in trust for Edward Byllinge. 

In 1675, Philip Carteret returned to America and resumed the 
government of the province from which he had been expelled. Andros 
opposed him in every act ; claimed 
New Jersey as a part of his own 
dominions ; kept the colony in an 
uproar; compelled the ships which 
came a-trading with the new settle- 
ments to pay tribute at New York ; 
and finally arrested Carteret and 
brought him to his own capital for 
trial. IVIeanwhile, Byllinge became 
embarrassed w^ith debt, and ^vas forced 
to make an assignment of his laroperty. 
Gawen Laurie, Nicholas Lucas and 
AVilliam Penn were appointed trus- 
tees, and to them Byllinge's interest 
in New Jersey was assigned for the 
benefit of his creditors. 

The assignees were Quakers. 
Here, then, was an opportunity to 
establish another asylum for the 
persecuted, and to found a common- 
Avealth of Friends. Penn and his 
associates at once applied to Sir 
George Carteret for a division of the 
province. That nobleman was both 
willing and anxious to enter into an 
arrangement by which his own half 

of the territory could be freed from all encumbrance. It was accordingly 
agreed to divide New Jersey so that Carteret's district should be sc^^arated 




EAST AND WESr JERSEY, 1677. 



206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

from the domain of the Quakers. After much discussion an agreement 
was reached in the summer of 1676, and a line of division was drawn 
through the province as follows : Beginning at the southern point of 
land on the east side of Little Egg Harbor, and running north of north- 
west to a point on the river Delaware in the latitude of forty-one degrees 
and forty minutes. The territory lying east of this line remained to 
Sir George as sole proprietor, and was named East Jersey ; while that 
portion lying between^ the line and the Delaware was called West 
Jersey, and passed under the exclusive control of Penn and his asso- 
ciates as assignees of Byllinge. 

Early in the following March the Quaker proprietors completed and 
published a body of laws under the singular title of CoxcESSiONS. But 
the name was significant, for everything was conceded to the people. 
This first simple code enacted by the Friends in America rivaled the 
charter of Connecticut in the liberality and purity of its principles. The 
authors of the instrument accompanied its publication with a general 
letter addressed to the Quakers of England, recommending the j)rovince 
and inviting immigration. 

The invitation was not in vain. Before the end of the year a 
colony of more than four hundred Friends arrived in the Delaware, and 
found homes in "West Jersey. Only one circumstance clouded the pros- 
pects of the new commonwealth of peace. The agent of Andros, governor 
of New York, was stationed at New Castle, on the western bank of the 
Delaware, to command the entrance to the river. The Quaker ships 
were obliged to pay customs before proceeding to their destination. A 
powerfid remonstrance was drawn up by the Friends and sent to Eng- 
land. For once the duke of York listened to reason and agreed to sub- 
mit his cause to the courts ; and for once a decision was rendered in 
accordance with right and justice. The eminent jurist Sir William 
Jones decided that the duke had no legal right to collect duties and taxes 
in the country of the Delaware. All claims to the territory and govern- 
ment of West Jersey were accordingly withdrawn ; and the Quaker col- 
onists were left in the enjoyment of independence. The heirs of Sir 
George Carteret were quick to see that the same decision would free their 
half of the province from the jurisdiction of Andros. An effort was 
accordingly made by the proprietors of East Jersey to secure a deed of 
release from the duke of York. The petition was favorably entertained, 
the deed issued and the whole territory between the Hudson and the 
Delaware freed from foreign authority. 

In November of 1681, Jennings, the deputy-governor of West 
Jersey, convened the first general assembly of the province. The men 



NEW JERSEY. 207 

who had so worried the aristocracy of England by wearing their hats in 
the presence of great men, and by saying Thee and Tlioa, now met together 
to make their own laws. The code was brief and simple. The doctrines 
of the CoxcESSioxs were reaffirmed. Men of all races and of all religions 
were declared to be equal before the law. No superiority was conceded 
to rank or title, to wealth or royal iDirth. Imprisonment for debt was 
forbidden. The sale of ardent spirits to the Red men was prohibited. 
Taxes should be voted by the representatives of the people. The lands 
of the Indians should be acquired by honorable purchase. Finally, a 
criminal — unless a murderer, a traitor or a thief — might be pardoned by 
the person against whom the offence was committed. 

In 1682, William Penn and eleven other Friends purchased of the 
heirs of Carteret the province of East Jersey. Robert Barclay, an em- 
inent Quaker of Aberdeen, in Scotland, and author of the book called 
Barclay's Apology, was appointed governor for life. The whole of Xew 
Jersey was now under the authority of the Friends. The administration 
of Barclay, which continued until his death, in 1690, was chiefly noted 
for a large immigration of Scotch Quakers who left the governor's native 
country to find freedom in East Jersey. The persecuted Presbyterians of 
Scotland came to the province in still greater numbers. 

On the accession of James II., in 1685, the American colonies from 
Maine to Delaware were consolidated, and Edmund Andros appointed 
royal governor. His first year in America was spent in establishing his 
authority at Boston, Providence and Hartford. Not until 1688 were 
New York and the two Jerseys brought under his jurisdiction. The 
short reicrn of Kina; James was already at an end before Andros could 
succeed in setting up a despotism on the ruin of colonial liberty. When 
the news came of the abdication and flight of the English monarch, the 
governor of New England could do nothing but surrender to the indig- 
nant people whom he had wronged and insulted. His arrest and im- 
prisonment was the signal for the restoration of popular government in all 
the colonies over which he had ruled. 

But the condition of New Jersey was deplorable. It was almost 
impossible to tell to whom the jurisdiction of the territory rightfully be- 
longed. So far as the eastern province was concerned, the representatives 
of Carteret claimed it ; the governor of New York claimed it ; Penn and 
his associates claimed it. As to the western province, the heirs of Byllinge 
claimed it ; Lucas, Laurie and Penn claimed it ; the governor of New 
York claimed it. Over all these pretensions stood the paramount claim 
of the Endish king. From 1689 to 1692 there was no settled form of 
government in the territory ; and for ten years thereafter the colony was 



208 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

vexed and distracted with the presence of more rulers than any one 
province could accommodate. 

At last self-interest solved the problem. The proprietors came to 
see that a peaceable possession of the soil of the Jerseys was worth more 
than the uncertain honors of government. A proposition was accordingly 
made that all the claimants should surrender their rights of civil jurisdic- 
tion to the English Crown, retaining only the ownership of the soil. The 
measure was successfully carried out; and in April of 1702, all propri- 
etary claims being waived in favor of the sovereign, the territory betAveen 
the Hudson and the Delaware became a royal province. 

New Jersey was now attached to the government of Lord Corn- 
bur}^ of New York. The union of the two colonies, however, extended 
only to the office of chief magistrate ; each province retained its own legis- 
lative assembly and a distinct territorial organization. This method of 
government continued for thirty-six years, and was then terminated by 
the action of the people. In 1728 the representatives of New Jersey sent 
a petition to George II., praying for a separation of the two colonies ; but 
the application was at first refused. Ten years later the petition was 
renewed, and through the influence of Lewis Morris brought to a success- 
ful issue. New Jersey was made independent, and Morris himself received 
a commission as first royal governor of the separated province. 

The people of New Jersey were but little disturbed by the succes- 
sive Indian wars. The native tribes on this part of the American coast 
were weak and timid. Had it not been for the cruelties of Kieft and the 
wrongs of other governors of New York, the peace of the middle colonies 
would never have been broken. The province of New Jersey is specially 
interesting as being the point where the civilization of New England met 
and blended with the civilization of the South. Here the institutions, 
manners and laws of the Pilgrims were first modified by contact with the 
less rigid habits and opinions of the people who came with Gosnold and 
Smith. The dividing line between East and West Jersey is also the 
dividing line between the austere Puritans of Massachusetts and the 
chivalrous cavaliers of Virginia. Happily, along this dividing line the 
men of peace, the followers of Penn and Barclay, came and dwelt as if 
to subdue ill-will and make a Union possible. 



PENNSYLVANIA. 209 



CHAPTER XXV. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

THE Quakers were greatly encouraged with the success of their col- 
onies in West New Jersey. The prospect of establishing on the 
banks of the Delaware a free State, founded on the principle of universal 
brotherhood, kindled a new enthusiasm in the mind of William Penn. 
For more than a quarter of a century the Friends had been buffeted with 
shameful persecutions. Imprisonment, exile and proscription had been 
their constant portion, but had not sufficed to abate their zeal or to 
quench their hopes of the future. The lofty purpose and philanthropic 
spirit of Penn urged him to find for his afflicted people an asylum of rest. 
In June of 1680 he went boldly to King Charles, and petitioned for a 
grant of territory and the privilege of founding a Quaker commonwealth 
in the New World. 

The petition was seconded by powerful friends in Parliament. 
Lords North and Halifax and the earl of Sunderland favored the propo- 
sition, and the duke of York remembered a pledge of assistance which he 
had given to Penn's father. On the 5th of March, 1681, a charter was 
granted ; the great seal of England, with the signature of Charles IL, was 
affixed ; and William Penn became the proprietor of Pennsylvania. 
The vast domain embraced under the new patent was bounded on the 
east by the river Delaware, extended north and south over three degrees 
of latitude, and westward through five degrees of longitude. Only the 
three counties comprising the present State of Delaware were reserved for 
the duke of York. 

In consideration of this grant, Penn relinquished a claim of sixteen 
thousand pounds sterling which the British government owed to his 
father's estate. He declared that his objects were to found a free com- 
monwealth without respect to the color, race or religion of the inhabitants; 
to subdue the natives with no other weapons than love and justice; to 
establish a refuge for the people of his own faith; and to enlarge the 
borders of the British empire. One of the first acts of the great propri- 
etor was to address a letter to the Swedes who might be included within 



210 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the limits of his province, telling them to be of good cheer, to keep their 
homes, make their own laws and fear no oppression. 

Within a month from the date of his charter, Penn published to the 
English nation a glowing account of his new country beyond the Del- 
aware, praising the beauty of the scenery and salubrity of the climate, 
promising freedom of conscience and equal rights, and inviting emigra- 
tion. There was an immediate and hearty response. In the course of 
the summer three shiploads of Quaker emigrants left England for the 
land of promise. William Markham, agent of the proprietor, came as 
leader of the company and deputy-governor of the province. He Mas 
instructed by Penn to rule in accordance with law, to deal justly with all 
men, and especially to make a league of friendship with the Indians. In 
October of the same year the anxious proprietor sent a letter directly to 
the natives of the territory, assuring them of his honest purposes and 
brotherly affection. 

The next care of Penn was to draw up a frame of government for 
his province. Herein was his great temptation. He had almost ex- 
hausted his father's estate in aiding the persecuted Quakers. A stated 
revenue would be very necessary in conducting his administration. His 
proprietary rights under the charter were so ample that he might easily 
reserve for himself large prerogatives and great emoluments in the govern- 
ment. He had before him the option of being a consistent, honest 
Quaker or a politic, wealthy governor. He chose like a man ; right 
triumphed over riches. The constitution which he framed was liberal 
almost to a fault ; and the people were allowed to adopt or reject it as 
they might deem proper. 

In the mean time, the duke of York had been induced to surrender 
his claim to the three reserved counties on the Delaware. The whole 
country on the Avestern bank of the bay and river, from the open ocean 
below Cape Henlo])en to the forty-third degree of north latitude, was now 
under the dominion of Penn. The summer of 1682 was spent in 
further preparation. The proprietor wrote a touching letter of farewell 
to the Friends in England ; gathered a large company of emigrants ; em- 
barked for America ; and on the 27th of October landed at New Castle, 
where the people were waiting to receive him. 

William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia, was born on the 14th 
of October, 1644. He was the oldest son of Vice- Admiral Sir William 
Penn of the British navy. At the age of twelve he was sent to the 
University of Oxford, where he distinguished himself as a student until 
he was expelled on account of his religious opinions. Afterward he 
traveled on the Continent ; was again a student at Saumur j returned to 



PENNSYL VAIsIA. 



211 



study law at London ; went to Ireland ; became a soldier ; heard the 
preaching of Loe and was converted to the Quaker faith. His disap- 
pointed and angry 
father drove him 
out of doors, but 
he M'as not to be 
turned from his 
course. He pub- 
licly proclaimed 
the doctrines of the 
Friends ; was ar- 
rested and impris- 
oned for nine 
months in the Tow- 
er of London. Be- 
ing released, he re- 
peated the offence, 
and lay for half a 
year in a dungeon 
at Newgate. A 
second time liber- 
ated, but despair- 
ing of toleration for 
his people in Eng- 
land, he cast his 

gaze across the Atlantic. West Jersey was purchased ; but the boundary 
was narrow, and the great-souled proprietor sought a grander and more 
beautiful domain. His petition was heard with favor and the charter of 
Pennsylvania granted by King Charles, Colonists came teeming ; and 
now the Quaker king himself, without pomp or parade, without the dis- 
charge of cannon or vainglorious ceremony, was come to New Castle to 
found a government on the basis of fraternity and peace. It was fitting 
that he sliould call the new republic a holy experiment. 

As soon as the landing was effected, Penn delivered an affectionate 
and cheerful address to the crowd of Swedes, Dutch and English who 
came to greet him. His former pledges of a liberal and just government 
were publicly renewed, and the people were exhorted to sobriety and 
honesty. From New Castle the governor ascended the Delaware to Ches- 
ter ; passed the site of Philadelphia ; visited the settlements of West New 
Jersey ; and thence traversed East Jersey to Long Island and New York. 
After spending some time at the capital of his friend, the duke of York, 




wilTjIam penn. 



212 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and speaking words of cheer to the Quakers about Brooklyn, he returned 
to his own province and began his duties as chief magistrate. 

Markham, the deputy-governor, had been instructed to establish 
fraternal relations with the Indians. Before Penn's arrival treaties had 
been made, lands purchased, and pledges of friendship given between the 
Friends and the Bed men. Now a great conference was appointed with the 
native chiefs. All the sachems of the Lenni Lenapes and other neighbor- 
ing: tribes were invited to assemble. The council was held on the banks 
of the Delaware under the open sky. Penn, accompanied by a few un- 
armed friends, clad in the simple garb of the Quakers, came to the ap- 
pointed spot and took his station under a venerable elm, now leafless ; for 
it was winter. The chieftains, also unarmed, sat, after the manner of 
their race, in a semicircle on the ground. It was not Penn's object to 
purchase lands, to provide for the interests of trade or to make a formal 
treaty, but rather to assure the untutored children of the woods of his 
honest purposes and brotherly affection. Standing before them with 
grave demeanor and speaking by an interpreter, he said : "JNIy Friends: 
We have met on the broad pathway of good faith. \Ye are all one flesh 
and blood. Being brethren, no advantage shall be taken on either side. 
When disputes arise, we will settle them in council. Between us there 
shall be nothing but openness and love." The chiefs replied : " While 
the rivers run and the sun shines we will live in peace with the children 
of William Penn." 

No record was made of the treaty, for none was needed. Its terms 
were written, not on decaying parchment, but on the living hearts of 
men. No deed of violence or injustice ever marred the sacred covenant. 
The Indians vied with the Quakers in keeping unbroken the pledge of 
per]Detual peace. For more than seventy years during which the province 
remained under the control of the Friends, not a single war-whoop was 
heard within the borders of Pennsylvania. The Quaker hat and coat 
proved to be a better defence for the wearer than coat-of-mail and 
musket. 

On the 4th of December, 1682, a general convention was held at 
Chester. The object was to complete the territorial legislation — a work 
which occupied three days. At the conclusion of the session, Penn de- 
livered an address to the assembly, and then hastened to the Chesapeake 
to confer with Lord Baltimore about the boundaries of their respective 
provinces. After a month's absence he returned to Chester and busied 
himself with drawing a map of his proposed capital. The beautiful neck 
of land between the Schuylkill and the Delaware was selected and pur- 
chased of the Swedes. In February of 1683 the native chestnuts, wal- 



PENXSYL VANIA. 



213 




AND 

WClNlTV 



PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY. 



nuts and aslics Avcrc blazed to indicate the lines of the streets, and Phil- 
adelphia — City of Brotherly Love — was founded. AVithin a 
month a general assembly was in session at the new capital. The people 
were eager that their Charter of Liberties, noAV to be framed, should be 
dated at Philadelphia. The work of 
legislation was begun and a form of 
government adopted wdiich was essen- 
tially a representative democracy. The 
leading officers were the governor, a 
council consisting of a limited number 
of members chosen for three years, 
and a larger popular assembly, to be 
annually elected. Penn conceded 
everything to the people; but the 
power of vetoing objectionable acts of 
the council was left in his hands. 

The growth of Philadelphia 
was astonishing. In the summer of 
1683 there were only three or four 

houses. The ground-squirrels still lived in their burrows, and the wild 
deer ran through the town without alarm. In 1685 the city contained 
six hundred houses ; the schoolmaster had come and tlie printing-press 
had begun its work. In another year Philadelphia had outgrown New 
York. Penn's work of establishing a free State in America had been 
well and nobly done. In August of 1684 he took an affectionate fare- 
well of his flourishing colony, and sailed for England. Thomas Lloyd 
was appointed as president during the absence of the proprietor, and five 
commissioners, members of the provincial council, were chosen to assist 
in the government. 

Notliing occurred to disturb the peace of Pennsylvania until the 
secession of Delaware in 1691. The three lower counties, which, ever 
since the arrival of Penn, had been united on terms of equality with the 
six counties of Pennsylvania, became dissatisfied with some acts of the 
general assembly and insisted on a separation. The proprietor gave a 
reluctant consent ; Delaware withdrew from the union and received a 
separate deputy-governor. Such M'as the condition of affairs after the 
abdication of King James II. 

William Penn was a friend and favorite of the Stuart kings. It 
was from Charles II. that he had received the charter of Pennsylvania. 
Now that the royal house was overthrown, he sympathized Avith the fallen 
monarch and looked with coldness on the new sovereigns, William and 



214 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mary. For some real or supposed adherence to the cause of the exiled 
James II., Penn was several times arrested and imprisoned. In 1692 
his proprietary rights wore taken awa}^, and by a royal commission the 
government of Pennsylvania was transferred to Fletcher of New York. 
In the following year Delaware shared the same fate ; all the provinces 
between Connecticut and Maryland were consolidated under Fletcher's 
authority. In the mean time, the suspicions against Penn's loyalty were 
found to be groundless, and he was restored to his rights as governor of 
Pennsylvania. 

In December of 1699, Penn a^ain visited his American common- 
wealth, now grown into a State. The prosperity of the province was all 
that could be desired ; but the people were somewhat dissatisfied with the 
forms of government. The lower counties were again embittered against 
the acts of the assembly. In order to restore peace and harmony, the 
benevolent proprietor drew up another constitution, more liberal than the 
first, extending the powers of the people and omitting the objectionable 
features of the former charter. But Delaware had fallen into chronic 
discontent, and would not accept the new frame of government. In 1702 
the general assemblies of the two provinces were convened ajiart ; and in 
the following year Delaware and Pennsylvania were finally separated. 
But the rights of Penn as proj^rietor of the whole territory remained as 
before, and a common govern(H' continued to preside over both colonies. 

In the winter of 1701, William Penn bade a final adieu to his 
friends in America and returned to England. He left Pennsylvania 
in a state of peace and prosperity. Though there was not a single fort 
within her borders, the province had been secure against invasion. 
With neither police nor militia, the people went abroad in safety. 
With no difference in rank, no preference in matters of opinion, and 
no proscription for religion's sake, the colony flourished and waxed 
strong. But the English ministers had now formed the design of 
abolishing all the proprietary governments, with a view to the estab- 
lishment of royal governments instead. The presence and influence, 
of Penn were especially required in England in order to prevent the 
success of the ministerial scheme. After much controversy his rights 
were recognized and secured against encroachment. In the mean 
time, the affairs of Pennsylvania were administered by the deputy- 
governors, Andrew Hamilton and John Evans. The latter, a worldly 
sort of man, not very faithful to the principles of the Friends, greatly 
troubled the province by purchasing warlike stores, building forts, 
and attempting to organize a regiment of militia. The assembly en- 
tered a strong protest against these proceedings, so irreconcilable with 



PENNS YL VANIA. 215 

the policy of the Quakers, and in 1708 Evans was removed from 
office. After him Charles Gookin received a commission as dep- 
uty-governor and entered upon his administration in 1709. Soon 
afterwards Penn was well-nigh overwhelmed by the rascality of his 
English agent, Ford, who first involved him in debt and then had 
him imprisoned. From a shameful confinement of many months he 
was finally released, and his old age was brightened by a gleam of 
prosperity. But the end of his labors was at hand. In July of 1718 
the magnanimous founder of Pennsylvania sank to his final rest. His 
estates, vast and valuable, but much encumbered with debt, were be- 
queathed to his three sons, John, Thomas and Richard, who thus be- 
came proprietors of Pennsylvania. By them, or their deputies, the 
province was governed until the American Revolution. In the year 
1779 the entire claims of the Penn family to the soil and jurisdiction 
of the State M'ere purchased by the legislature of Pennsylvania for a 
hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling. 

The colonial history of the State founded by William Penn and 
the Quakers is one of special interest and pleasure. It is a narrative 
that recounts the victories of peace and the triumph of the nobler 
virtues over violence and wrong. It is doubtful whether the history 
of any other colony in the world is touched with so many traits of 
innocence and truth. When the nations grow mercenary and the 
times seem full of fraud, the early annals of Pennsylvania may well 
be recited as a perpetual protest against the seeming success of evil. 
"I will found a free colony for all mankind," were the words of 
William Penn. How well his work was done shall be fitly told 
when the bells of his capital city shall ring out the first glad notes 
of American Independence. 



COLONIAL HISTORY.— Continued. 

MINOR SOUTHERN COLONIES. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MARYLAND. 

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH was the first white man to explore the 
Chesapeake and its tributaries. After him, in 1631, William Clay- 
borne, a resolute and daring English surveyor, was sent out by the 
London Company to make a map of the country about the head-waters 
of the bay. By the second charter of Virginia the territory of that 
province had been extended on the north to the forty-first parallel of 
latitude. All of the present State of Maryland was included in this 
enlargement, which also embraced the whole of Delaware and the greater 
part of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The ambition of Virginia was 
greatly excited by the possession of this vast domain; to explore and 
occupy it was an enterprise of the highest importance. 

Clayborne was a member of the council of Virginia, and secretary 
of state in that colony. In May of 1631 he received a royal commission 
authorizing him to discover the sources of the Chesapeake Bay, to survey 
the country as far as the forty-first degree of latitude, to establish a trade 
with the Indians, and to exercise the right of government over tl:e com- 
panions of his voyage. This commission was confirmed by Governor 
Harvey of Virginia, and in the spring of the following year Clayborne 
began his important and arduous work. The members of the London 
Company were already gathering imaginary riches from the immense fur- 
trade of the Potomac and the Susquehanna. 

The enterprise of Clayborne ^vas attended with success. A trading- 
post was established on Kent Island, and another at the head of the bay, 
in the vicinity of Havre de Grace. The many rivers that fall into the 
Chesapeake were again explored and a trade opened with the natives. 
The limits of Virginia were about to be extended to the borders of New 
Netherland. But in the mean time, a train of circumstances had been 
(216) 



3IARYLAND. 



217 



prepared in England by which the destiny of several American provinces 
was completely changed. As in many other instances, religious perse- 
cution again contributed to lay the foundation of a new State in the 
wilderness. And Sir George Calvert, of Yorkshire, was the man who 
was destined to become the founder. Born in 1580 ; educated at Oxford; 
n man of much travel and vast experience ; an ardent and devoted Cath- 
olic; a friend of hu- 
manity ; honored with 
knighthood, and after- 
ward with an Irish 
peerage and the title 
of Lord Baltimore, 
— he now in middle 
life turned aside from 
the dignities of rank 
and affluence to devote 
the energies of his life 
to the welfare of the 
oppressed. For the 
Catholics of England, 
as well as the dissent- 
ing Protestants, were 
afflicted with many 
and bitter persecu- 
tions. 

Lord Baltimore's 
first American entei- 
prise was the planting 
of a Catliolic colony 
in Newfoundland. King James, who was not unfriendly to the Roman 
Church, had granted him a patent for the southern promontory of the 
island; and here, in 1623, a refuge was established for distressed Cath- 
olics. But in such a j^lace no colony could be successful. The district 
was narrow, cheerless, desolate. Profitable industry was impossible. 
French ships hovered around the coast and captured the English fishing- 
boats. It became evident that the settlement must be removed, and Lord 
Baltimore wisely turned his attention to the sunny country of the Ches- 
apeake. 

In 1629 he made a visit to Virginia. The general assembly offered 
him citizenship on condition that he \vould take an oath of allegiance; 
but the oath was of such a sort as no honest Catholic could subscribe to. 




LORD BALTi:3rORE. 



218 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

In vain did Sir George plead for toleration ; the assembly was inexorable. 
It was on the part of the Virginians a short-sighted and ruinous policy. 
For the London Company had already been dissolved ; the king might 
therefore rightfully regrant that vast territory north of the Potomac 
which by the terms of the second charter had been given to Virginia. 
Lord Baltimore left the narrow-minded legislators, returned to London, 
himself drew up a charter for a new State on the Chesapeake, and easily 
induced his friend, King Charles L, to sign it. The Virginians had 
saved their religion and lost a province. 

The territory embraced by the new patent was bounded by the 
ocean, by the fortieth parallel of latitude, by a line drawn due south from 
that parallel to the most western fountain of the Potomac, by the river 
itself from its source to the bay, and by a line running due east from the 
mouth of the river to the Atlantic. The domain included the whole of 
the present States of Maryland and Delaware and a large part of Penn- 
sylvania and New Jersey. Here it was the purpose of the magnanimous 
proprietor to establish an asylum for all the afflicted of his own faith, and 
to jjlant a State on the broad basis of religious toleration and popular lib- 
erty. The provisions of the charter were the most liberal and ample which 
had ever received the sanction of the English government. Christianity 
was declared to be the religion of the State, but no preference was given 
to any sect or creed. The lives and property of the colonists were care- 
fully guarded. Free trade was declared to be the law of the province, 
and arbitrary taxation was forbidden. The rights of the j^roprietor ex- 
tended only to the free appointment of the officers of his government. The 
power of making and amending the laws was conceded to the freemen of 
the colony or their representatives. 

One calamity darkened the prospect. Before the liberal patent could 
receive the seal of State Sir George Calvert died. His title and estates 
descended to his son Cecil; and to him, on the 20th of June, 1632, the 
charter which had been intended for his noble father was finally issued. 
In honor of Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France and 
wife of Charles I., the name of Maryland was conferred on the new 
province. Independence of Virginia was guaranteed in the constitution 
of the colony, and no danger was to be anticipated from the feeble forces 
of New Netherland. It only remained for the younger Lord Baltimore 
to raise a company of emigrants and carry out his father's benevolent 
designs. The work went forward slowly, and it was not until November 
of 1633 that a colony numbering two hundred persons could be collected. 
Meanwhile, Cecil Calvert had abandoned the idea of coming in person to 
America, and had appointed his brother Leonard to accompany the col- 



MARYLAND. 219 

onists to their destination, and to act as deputy-governor of the new 
province. 

In March of the following year the immigrants arrived at Old 
Point Comfort. Leonard Calvert bore a letter from King Charles to 
Governor Harvey of Virginia, commanding him to receive the new- 
comers with courtesy and favor. The order was complied with ; but the 
Virginians could look only with intense jealousy on a movement Avhich 
must soon deprive them of the rich fur-trade of the Chesapeake. The 
colonists proceeded up the bay and entered the Potomac. At the mouth 
of Piscataway Creek, nearly opposite Mount Vernon, the pinnace was 
moored, and a cross was set up on an island. On the present site of Fort 
"Washington there was an Indian village whose inhabitants came out to 
meet the English. A conference was held, and the sachem of the nation 
told Leonard Calvert in words of dubious meaning that he and his colony 
mi[/ht stay or go just as they pleased. Considering this answer as a 
menace, and deeming it imprudent to plant his first settlement so far up 
the river, Calvert again embarked with his companions, and dropped down 
stream to the mouth of the St. Mary's, within fifteen miles of the bay. 
Ascending the estuary for about ten miles, he came to an Indian town. 
The natives had been beaten in battle by the Susquehannas, and were on 
the eve of migrating into the interior. The village was already half 
deserted. With the consent of the Red men, the English- moved into the 
vacant huts. The rest of the town was purchased, with the adjacent ter- 
ritory, the Indians promising to give possession at the opening of the 
spring. The name of St. Mary's was given to this the oldest colony of 
Maryland, and the name of the river was changed to St. George's. 

Calvert treated the natives with great liberality. The consequence 
was that the settlers had peace and plenty. The Indian women taught 
the wives of the English how to make corn-bread, and the friendly war- 
riors instructed the colonists in the mysteries of hunting. Game was 
abundant. The lands adjacent to the village were already under cultiva- 
tion. The settlers had little to do but to plant their gardens and fields 
and wait for the coming harvest. There was neither anxiety nor want. 
The dream of Sir George Calvert was realized. Within six months the 
colony of St. ]\Iary's had grown into greater prosperity than the settle- 
ment at Jamestown had reached in as many years. Best of all, the j^ledge 
of civil liberty and religious toleration was redeemed to the letter. Two 
years before the founding of Rhode Island the Catholics of the Ches- 
apeake had emancipated the human conscience, built an asylum for the 
distressed, and laid the foundations of a free State. 

Within less than a year after the founding of St. Mary's the free- 



220 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

men were convened in a general assembly. In February of 1635 the 
work of colonial legislation was first begun. The records of this and 
several succeeding sessions were destroyed in the rebellion of 1645^ 
and not much is known concerning the character of the earliest laws. 
But it is certain that the province was involved in difficulty. For Clay- 
borne still stood his ground on Kent Island, and openly resisted Lord 
Baltimore's authority. His settlement on the island was almost as strong 
as the colony at St. Mary's; and Clayborne, unscrupulous as to the 
right, and confident in his power, resolved to appeal to arms. In 1637 
a bloody skirmish occurred on the banks of the river Wicomico, on the 
eastern shore of the bay. Several lives were lost, but the insurgents were 
defeated. Calvert's forces proceeded to Kent Island, overpowered the 
settlement, and executed one or two persons who had participated in the 
rebellion. 

Clayborne, in the mean time, had escaped into Virginia. The 
assembly of jNIaryland demanded the fugitive ; but the governor refused, 
and sent the prisoner to England for trial. The legislators of St. Mary's 
charged the absent criminal with murder and piracy, tried him, con- 
demned him and confiscated his estates. Clayborne, who was safe in 
England, appealed to the king. The cause Avas heard by a committee of 
Parliament, and it was decided that the commission of Clayborne, which 
was only a license to trade in the Chesapeake, had been annulled by the 
dissolution of the London Company, and that the charter of Lord Balti- 
more was valid against all opposing claimants. Clayborne, however, was 
allowed to go at large. 

In 1639 a regular representative government was established in 
Maryland. Hitherto a system of popular democracy had prevailed in the 
province ; each freeman had been allo^ved a vote in determining the laws. 
With the growth of the colony it was deemed expedient to substitute the 
more convenient method of representation. When the delegates came 
together, a declaration of rights was adopted, and the prerogative of the 
proprietor more clearly defined. All the broad and liberal principles of 
the colonial patent were reaffirmed. The powers of the assembly were 
made coextensive with those of the House of Commons in England. 
The rights of citizenship were declared to be identical with those of Eng- 
lish subjects in the mother country. 

The Indians of Maryland and Virginia had now grown jealous of 
foreign encroachments. Vague rumors of the English Revolution had 
been borne to the Red men, and they believed themselves able to expel 
the intruders from the country. In 1642 hostilities were begun on the 
Potomac, and for two years the province was involved in war. But the 



MARYLAND. 221 

settlements of Maryland were few and compact, and no great suffering 
was occasioned by the onsets of the barbarians. In 1644 the savages 
agreed to bury the hatchet and to renew the broken pledges of friendship. 
Hardly, however, had the echo of Indian warfare died away, when the 
colony was visited with a worse calamity by the return of its old enemy, 
AVilliam Clayborne. 

iJe came to find revenge, and found it. ' The king was now at 
war with his subjects, and could give no aid to the proprietor of an 
American province. Clayborne saw his opportunity, hurried to Mary- 
land, and raised the standard of rebellion. Arriving in the province in 
1644, he began to sow the seeds of sedition by telling the restless and 
lawless spirits of the colony that they were wronged and oppressed by a 
usurping government. Early in 1645 an insurrection broke out. Com- 
panies of desperate men came together, and found in Clayborne a natural 
leader. The government of Leonard Calvert was overthrown, and the 
governor obliged to fly for his life. Escaping from the province, he found 
refuge and protection with Sir William Berkeley of Virginia. Clayborne 
seized the colonial records of Maryland, and destroyed them. One act of 
violence followed another. The government was usurped, and for more 
than a year the colony ^^'as under the dominion of the insurgents. ]\Iean- 
while, however. Governor Calvert collected his forces, returned to the 
province, defeated the rebels, and in August of 1646 succeedtd in restor- 
ing his authority. It marks the mild and humane s])irit of the Calverts 
that those engaged in this unjustifiable insurrection were pardoned by a 
general amnesty. 

The acts of the provincial legislature in 1649 were of special im- 
portance. It was enacted in broad terms that no person believing in the 
fundamental doctrines of Christianity should, on account of his religious 
opinions or practices, be in any wise distressed Avithin the borders of 
ISIaryland. It was declared a finable offence for citizens to apply to each 
other the opprobrious names used in religious controversy. Freedom of 
conscience was reiterated with a distinctness that could not be misunder- 
stood. While ]\Iassachusetts was attempting by proscription to establish 
Puritanism as the faith of New England, and while the Episcopalians of 
Jamestown were endeavoring by exclusive legislation to make the Church 
of England the Church of Virginia, Maryland was joining with Ehode 
Island and Connecticut in proclaiming religious freedom. It sometimes 
happened in those days that Protestants escaping from Protestants found 
an asylum with the Catholic colonists of the Chesapeake. 

In 1650 the legislative body of Maryland was divided into two 
branches. The upper house consisted of the governor and members of 



222 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

his council appointed by the proprietor. The lower house, or general 
assembly, was composed of burgesses elected by the people of the province. 
Again the rights of Lord Baltimore were carefully defined by provincial 
law. An act was also passed declaring that no taxes should be levied 
without the consent of the assembly. Such was the condition of aifairs 
in the colony when the commonwealth was established in England. Par- 
liament was now the supreme power in the mother country, ancT it could 
hardly be expected that Lord Baltimore's charter would be allowed to 
stand. 

In 1651 parliamentary commissioners were appointed to come to 
America and assume control of the colonies bordering on the Chesapeake. 
Clayborne was a member of the body thus appointed. When the com- 
missioners arrived in Maryland, Stone, the deputy of Lord Baltimore, 
was deposed from office. A compromise was presently effected between 
the adherents of the proprietor and the opposing faction ; and in June of 
the following year, Stone, with three members of his council, was per- 
mitted to resume the government. In April of 1653 the Long Par- 
liament, by whose authority the commissioners had been appointed, was 
dissolved. Stone thereupon published a proclamation declaring that the 
recent interference of Clayborne and his associates had been a rebellious 
usurpation. Clayborne, enraged at this proclamation, collected a force in 
Virginia, returned into Maryland, again drove Stone out of office, and 
entrusted the government to ten commissioners appointed by himself. 

The Puritan and republican party in Maryland had now grown 
sufficiently strong to defy the proprietor and the Catholics. A Protestant 
assembly was convened at Patuxent in October of 1654. The first act 
was to acknowledge the supremacy of Cromwell ; the next to disfranchise 
the Catholics and to deprive them of the protection of the laws. The un- 
grateful representatives seemed to forget that if Lord Baltimore had been 
equally intolerant not one of them would have had even a residence 
within the limits of Maryland. It would be difficult to find a more 
odious piece of legislation than that of the assembly at Patuxent. Of 
course the Catholic party would not submit to a code by which they were 
virtually banished from their oAvn province. 

Civil war ensued. Governor Stone organized and armed the 
militia, seized the records of the colony, and marched against the oppos- 
ing forces. A decisive battle was fought just across the estuary from the 
present site of Annapolis. The Catholics Mere defeated, with a loss of 
fifty men in killed and wounded. Stone himself was taken prisoner, and 
was only saved from death by the personal friendship of some of the in- 
surgents. Three of the Catholic leaders were tried by a court-martial 



MARYLAND. 223 

and executed. Cromwell paid but little attention to these atrocities, and 
made no effort to sustain the government of Lord Baltimore. 

In 1656 Josias Fendall, a weak and impetuous man, was sent out 
by the proprietor as governor of the province. There was now a Cath- 
olic insurrection with Fendall at the head. For two years the govern- 
ment was divided, the Catholics exercising authority at St. JNIaiy's, and 
the Protekants at Leonardstown. At length, in March of 1658, a com- 
promise was effected ; Fendall was acknowled'ged as governor, and the 
acts of the recent Protestant assemblies were recognized as valid. A gen- 
eral amnesty was published, and the colony was again at peace. 

When the death of Cromwell was announced in Maryland, the 
provincial authorities were much perplexed. One of four courses might 
be pursued : Eichard Cromwell might be recognized as protector ; Charles 
II. might be proclaimed as king ; Lord Baltimore might be acknowledged 
as hereditary proprietor ; colonial independence might be declared. The 
latter policy was adopted by the assembly. On the 12th of March, 1660, 
the rights of Lord Baltimore were formally set aside; the provincial 
council was dissolved, and th^ whole power of government was assumed 
by the House of Burgesses. The act of independence was adopted just 
one day before a similar resolution was passed by the general assembly of 
Virginia. The population of Maryland liad now reached ten thousand. 

On the restoration of monarchy the rights of the Baltimores were 
again recognized, and Philip Calvert was sent out as deputy-governor. In 
the mean time, Fendall had resigned his trust as agent of the proprietor, 
and had accepted an election by the people. He was now repaid for his 
double-dealing with an arrest, a trial and a condemnation on a charge 
of treason. Nothing saved his life but the clemency of Lord Baltimore, 
who, with his customary magnanimity, proclaimed a general pardon. 

Sir Cecil Calvert died in 1675, and his son Charles, a young man 
who had inherited the virtues of the illustrious family, succeeded to the 
estates and title of Baltimore. For sixteen years he exercised the rights 
of proprietary governor of INIaryland. The laws of the province were 
carefully revised, and the liberal principles of the original charter re- 
affirmed as the basis of the State. Only once during this period was the 
liappiness of the colony disturbed. When the news arrived of the abdi- 
cation of King James II., the deputy of Lord Baltimore hesitated to 
acknowledge the new sovereigns, William and Mary. 'An absurd rumor 
was spread abroad that the Catholics had leagued with the Indians for 
the purpose of destroying the Protestants of Maryland in a general mas- 
sacre. An opposing force was organized ; and in 1689 the Catholic party 
was compelled to surrender the government. For two years the Protest- 



224 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ants held the province, and civil authority was exercised by a body called 
the Convention of Associates. 

On the 1st day of June, 1691, the government of Maryland was 
revolutionized by the act of King William. The charter of Lord Balti- 
more was arbitrarily taken away, and a royal governor appointed over the 
j)rovince. Sir Lionel Copley received a commission, and assumed the 
government in 1692. Every vestige of the old patent was swept away. 
The Episcopal Church was established by law and supported by taxation. 
Religious toleration Avas abolished and the government administered on 
despotic principles. This condition of affairs continued until 1715, when 
Queen Anne was induced to restore the heir of Lord Baltimore to the 
rights of his ancestor. ISIaryland again became a proprietary government 
under the authority of the Calverts, and so remained until the Revolu- 
tionary war. 

The early history of the colony planted by the first Lord Balti- 
more on the shores of the Chesapeake is full of profitable instruction. In 
no other American province were the essential vices of intolerance more 
clearly manifested; in no other did the principle of religious freedom 
shine with a brighter lustre. Nor will the thoughtful student fail to 
observe how the severe dogmas of Catholicism were softened down when 
brought into contact with the ennobling virtues of the Calverts, until over 
river and bay and shore a mellow light was diffused like a halo shining 
from the altars of the ancient Church. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
NORTH CAROLINA. 



THE first effort to colonize North Carolina was made by Sir Walter 
Raleigh. In 1630 an immense tract lying between the thirtieth and 
the thirty-sixth parallels of latitude was granted by King Charles to Sir 
Robert Heath. But neither the proprietor nor his successor, Lord Mal- 
travers, succeeded in planting a colony. After a useless existence of 
thirty-three years, the patent was revoked by the English sovereign. The 
only effect of Sir Robert's charter was to perpetuate the name of Carolina, 
which had been given to the country by John Ribault in 1562. 

In the year 1622 the country as far south as the river Chowan was 



NORTH CAROLINA. 225 

explored by Pory, the secretary of Virginia. Twenty years later a com- 
pany of Virginians obtained leave of the assembly to prosecute discovery 
on the lower lloanoke and establish a trade with the natives. The first 
actual settlement was made near the mouth of the Chowan about the year 
1651. The country was visited just afterward by Clayborne of Maryland, 
and in 1661 a company of Puritans from New England passed down the 
coast, entered the mouth of Cape Fear River, purchased lands of the 
Indians and established a colony on Oldtown Creek, nearly two hundred 
miles farther south than any other English settlement. In 1663 Lord 
Clarendon, General ]SIonk, who was now honored with the title of duke 
of Albemarle, and six other noblemen, received at the hands of Charles 
II. a patent for all the country between the thirty-sixth parallel and the 
river St. John's, in Florida. With this grant the colonial history of 
North Carolina properly begins. 

In the same year a civil government was organized by the settlers 
on the Chowan. William Drummond was chosen governor, and the 
name of Albemarle County Colony was given to the district border- 
ing on the sound. In 1665 it was found that the settlement was north 
of the thirty-sixth parallel, and consequently beyond the limits of the 
province. To remedy this defect the grant was extended on the north to 
thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes, the present boundary of Virginia, 
and westward to the Pacific. During the same year the little Puritan 
colony on Cape Fear River was broken up by the Indians ; but scarcely 
had this been done when the site of the settlement, with thirty-two miles 
square of the surrounding territory, was purchased by a company of 
planters from Barbadoes. A new county named Clarendon was laid 
out, and Sir John Yeamans elected governor of the colony. The pro- 
prietors favored the settlement; immigration was rapid; and within a year 
eight hundred people had settled along the river. 

The M'ork of preparing a frame of government for the new province 
was assigned to Sir Ashley Cooper, earl of Shaftesbury. The proprietors, 
not without reason, looked forward to the time when a powerful nation 
should arise within the borders of their vast domain. To draft a suitable 
constitution was deemed a work of the greatest importance. Shaftesbury 
was a brilliant and versatile statesman who had entire confidence in his 
abilities ; but in order to give complete assurance of perfection in the 
proposed statutes, the philosopher John Locke was employed by Sir 
Ashley and his associates to prepare the constitution. The legislation of 
the world furnishes no » parallel for the pompous absurdity of Locke's 
performance. 

From March until July of 1669 the philosopher worked away in 

15 



226 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the preparation of his Grand Model ; then the mighty Instrument was 
done, and signed. It contained a hundred and twenty articles, called the 
*' Fundamental Constitutions ;" and this was but the beginning of the im- 
perial scheme which wa^ to stand like a colossus over the huts and pas- 
tures along the Cape Fear and Chowan Rivers. The empire of Carolina 
was divided into vast districts of four hundred and eighty thousand acres 
each. Political rights were made dependent upon hereditary wealth. 
The offices were put beyond the reach of the people. There were two 
grand orders of nobility. There were dukes, earls and marquises; 
knights, lords and esquires ; baronial courts, heraldic ceremony, and 
every sort of feudal nonsense that the human imagination could conceive 
of. And this was the magnificent constitution which a great statesman 
and a wise philosopher had planned for the government of a few colonists 
who lived on venison and potatoes and paid their debts with tobacco ! 

It was one thing to make the grand model, and another thing to get 
it across the Atlantic. In this the proprietors never succeeded. All at- 
tempts to establish the pompous scheme of government ended In necessary 
failure. The settlers of Albemarle and Clarendon had meanwhile learned 
to govern themselves after the simple manner of pioneers, and they could 
but regard the model and Its authors with disdainful contempt. After 
twenty years of fruitless effort, Shaftesbury and his associates folded up 
their grand constitution and concluded that an empire in the pine forests 
of North Carolina was impossible. 

The soil of Clarendon county was little better than a desert. For a 
while a trade in staves and furs supplied a profitable Industry ; but when 
this traffic was exhausted, the colonists began to remove to other settle- 
ments. In 1671, Governor Yeamans was transferred to the colony which 
had been founded in the previous year at the mouth of Ashley River, and 
before the year 1690 the whole county of Clarendon was a second time 
surrendered to the native tribes. The settlement north of Albemarle 
Sound was more prosperous, but civil dissension greatly retarded the 
development of the country. 

For the proprietors were already busy trying to establish their big in- 
stitutions in the feeble province. The humble commerce of the colony was 
burdened with an odious duty. Every pound of the eight hundred hogs- 
heads of tobacco annually produced was taxed a penny for the benefit of 
the government. There were at this time less than four thousand people 
in North Carolina, and yet the traffic of these poor settlers with New 
England alone was so weighed down with duties as to yield an annual 
revenue of twelve thousand dollars. Miller, the governor, was a harsh 
and violent man. A gloomy oj)positIon to the proprietary government 



]!70RTH CAROLINA. 227 

pervaded the colony; and when, in 1676, large numbers of refugees from 
Virginia — patriots who had fought in Bacon's rebellion — arrived in the 
Chowan, the spirit of discontent was kindled into open resistance. 

The arrival of a merchant-ship from Boston and an attempt to en- 
force the revenue laws furnished the occasion and pretext of an insurrec- 
tion. The vessel evaded the payment of duty, and was declared a smug- 
gler. But the people flew to arms, seized the governor and six members 
of his council, overturned the existing order of things and established a 
new government of their own. John Culpepper, the leader of the insur- 
gents, was chosen governor; other officers were elected by the people; and 
in a few weeks the colony was as tranquil as if Locke's grand model liad 
never been heard of. But in the next year, 1679, the imprisoned Mil- 
ler and his associates escaped from confinement, and going to London 
told a dolorous story about their wrongs and suiferings. The English 
lords of trade took the matter in hand, and it seemed that Xorth Carolina 
was doomed to punishment. 

But the colonists were awake to their interests. Governor Cul- 
pepper went boldly to England to defend himself and to justify the rebel- 
lion. He M'as seized, indicted for high treason, tried and acquitted by a 
jury of Englishmen. It marks a peculiar feature of this cause that the 
sagacious earl of Shaftesbury came forward at the trial and spoke in de- 
fence of the prisoner. But Lord Clarendon was so much vexed at the 
acquittal of the rebellious governor that he sold his rights as proprietor to 
the infamous Seth Sothel. This man in 1680 was sent out by his associ- 
ates as governor of the province. In crossing the ocean he Avas captured 
by a band of pirates, and for three years the colony was saved from his 
evil presence. At last, in 1683, he arrived in Carolina and began his 
M'Ork, M^hich consisted in oppressing the people and defrauding the pro- 
prietors. Cranfield of New Hampshire, Cornbury of New York and 
Wingfield of Virginia were all respectable men in comparison with Sothel, 
whose sordid passions have made him notorious as the worst colonial gov- 
ernor that ever plundered an American province. After five years of 
avaricious tyranny, the base, gold-gathering, justice-despising despot was 
overthrown in an insurrection. Finding himself a prisoner, and fearing 
the wrath of the defrauded proprietors more than he feared the indigna- 
tion of the outraged colonists, he begged to be tried by the assembly of 
the province. The request was granted, and the culprit escaped "vvith a 
sentence of disfranchisement and a twelve months' exile from North 
Carolina. 

Sothel Avas succeeded in the governorship l)y Ludwell, M'ho arrived 
in 1689. His administration of six years' duration was a period of peace 



228 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and contentment. The wrongs of his predecessor were corrected as far as 
possible by a just and humane chief magistrate. In 1695 came Sir John 
Archdale, another of the proprietors, the rival of Ludvvell in prudence 
and integrity. Then followed the tranquil administration of Governor 
Henderson Walker; then, in 1704, the foolish attempt of Robert Daniel 
to establish the Church of England. In the mean time, the colony had 
grown strong in population and resources. The country south of the 
Roanoke besan to be dotted with farms and hamlets. Other settlers 
came from Virginia and Maryland. Quakers came from New England 
and the Delaware. A band of French Huguenots came in 1707. A 
hundred families of German refugees, buffeted M'ith war and persecution, 
left the banks of the Rhine to find a home on the banks of the Keuse. 
Peasants from Switzerland came and founded Kew Berne at the mouth 
of the River Trent. 

The Indians of North Carolina had gradually wasted away. Pes- 
tilence and strong drink had reduced powerful tribes to a shadow. Some 
nations were already extinct ; others, out of thousands of strong-limbed 
warriors, had only a dozen men remaining. The lands of the savages had 
passed to the whites, sometimes by purchase, sometimes by fraud, often 
by forcil)le occupation. The natives were jealous and revengeful, but 
weak. Of all the mighty tribes that had inhabited the Carolinas in the 
days of Sir Walter Raleigh, only the Corees and the Tuscaroras were 
still formidable. The time had come when these unhappy nations, like 
the rest of their race, were doomed to destruction. The conflict which 
ended, and could only end, in the ruin of the Red men, began in the year 
1711. 

In September of this year, Lawson, the surveyor-general of North 
Carolina, ascended the Neuse to explore and map the country. The In- 
dians were alarmed at the threatened encroachment upon their territory. 
A band of warriors took Lawson prisoner, led him before their council, 
condemned him -and burned him to death. On the night of the 22d, com- 
panies of savages rose out of the woods, fell upon the scattered settlements 
between the Roanoke and Pamlico Sound, and murdered a hundred and 
thirty persons. Civil dissension prevented the colonial authorities from 
adopting vigorous measures of defence. The protection of the people 
and the punishment of the barbarians were left to the neighboring prov- 
inces. Spottswood, governor of Virginia, made some unsuccessful efforts 
to render assistance, and Colonel Barnwell came from South Carolina with 
a company of militia and a body of friendly Cherokees, Creeks and Cataw- 
bas. The savages were driven into their fort in the northern part of 
Craven county, but could not be dislodged. While affairs were in this 



NORTH CAROLINA. 229 

condition a treaty of peace was made ; but Barnwell's men, on their way 
homeward, violated the compact, sacked an Indian village and made 
slaves of the inhabitants. The war Avas at once renewed. 

In September of the next year, while the conflict was yet unde- 
cided, the yellow fever broke out in the country south of Pamlico Sound. 
So dreadful were the ravages of the pestilence that the peninsula was 
wellnigh swept of its inhabitants. INIeanwhile, Colonel James ]\Ioore of 
South Carolina had arrived, in command of a regiment of whites and In- 
dians, and the Tuscaroras were pursued to their principal fort on Cotentnea 
Creek, in Greene county. This place was besieged until the latter part of 
March, 1713, and was then carried by assault. Eight hundred warriors 
were taken prisoners. The power of the hostile nation Mas broken, but 
the Tuscarora chieftains were divided in council ; some were desirous of 
peace, and some voted to continue the war. This difference of opinion 
led to a division of the tribe. Those who wished for peace were permit- 
ted to settle in a single community in the county of Hyde. Their hostile 
brethren, seeing that further resistance would be hopeless, determined to 
leave the country. In the month of June they abandoned their hunting- 
grounds made sacred by the traditions of their fathers, marched across 
Virginia, INIaryland and Pennsylvania, reached Northern New York, 
joined their kinsmen, the Oneidas, and became the sixth nation of the 
Iroquois confederacy. 

Thus far {\\q two Carolinas had continued under a common gov- 
ernment. In 1729 a final separation was effected between the provinces 
north and south of Cape Fear River, and a royal governor appointed over 
each. In spite of Locke's grand model and the Tuscarora wai-, in spite 
of the threatened Spanish invasion of 1744, the northern colony had greatly 
prospered. The intellectual development of the people had not been as 
rapid as the growth in numbers and in wealth. Little attention had been 
given to questions of religion. There was no minister in the province 
until 1703. Two years later the first church was built. The first court- 
house Avas erected in 1722, and the printing-press did not begin its work 
until 1754. But the people were brave and patriotic. They loved their 
country, and called it the Land of Summer. In the farmhouse and the 
village, along the banks of the rivers and the borders of the primeval for- 
ests, the spirit of liberty pervaded every breast. The love of freedom was 
intense, and hostility to tyranny a universal passion. In the times of 
Sothel it was said of the North Carolinans that they would not pay trib- 
ute even to Ccesar. 



230 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XXyill. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

IN January of 1670 the proprietors of Carolina sent out a colony under 
command of Joseph West and William Saylc. There was at this time 
not a single European settlement between the mouth of Cape Fear River 
and the St, John's, in Florida. Here was a beautiful coast of nearly four 
hundred miles ready to receive the beginnings of civilization. The new 
emigrants, sailing by way of Barbadoes, steered far to the south, and 
reached the mainland in the country of the Savannah. The vessels first 
entered the harbor of Port Royal. It was now a hundred and eight years 
since John Ribault, on an island in this same harbor, had set up a stone 
engraved with the lilies of France; now the Englishman had come. 

The ships were anchored near the site of Beaufort. But tlie colo- 
nists were dissatisfied with the appearance of the country, and did not go 
ashore. Sailino- northward along the coast for forty miles, they next en- 
tered the mouth of Ashley River, and landed where the first high land 
appeared upon the southern bank. Here were laid the foundations of 
Old Charleston, so named in honor of King Charles II. Of this, the 
oldest town in South Carolina, no trace remains except the line of a ditch 
which was digged around the fort ; a cotton-field occupies the site of the 
ancient settlement. 

Sayle had been commissioned as governor and West as commercial 
agent of the colony. The settlers had been furnished with a copy of 
Locke's big constitution, but they had no more use for it than for a dead 
elephant. Instead of the grand model, a little government was organized 
on the principles of common sense. Five councilors were elected by the 
people, and five others appointed by the proprietors. Over this council 
of ten the governor presided. Twenty delegates, composing a house of 
representatives, were chosen by the colonists. Within two years the sys- 
tem of popular government was firmly established in the province. Ex- 
cept the prevalence of diseases peculiar to the southern climate, no calam- 
ity darkened the prospects of the rising State. 

In the beginning of 1671 Governor Sayle died, and West, by com- 
mon consent, assumed the duties of the vacant office. After the lapse of 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 231 

a few months, Sir John Yeamans, who had been governor of the northern 
province and was now in Barbadoes, was commissioned by the proprie- 
tors as chief magistrate of the southern colony. He brought with him to 
Ashley River a large cargo of African slaves. From the beginning the 
colonists had devoted themselves to planting ; but the English laborers, 
unused as yet to the climate, could hardly endure the excessive heats of the 
sultry fields. To the Caribbee negroes, already accustomed to the burn- 
ing sun of the tropics, the Carolina summer seemed temperate and pleasant. 
Thus the labor of the black man was substituted for the labor of the white 
man, and in less than two years from the founding of the colony the system 
of slavery was firmly established. In this respect the history of South 
Carolina is peculiar. Slavery had been introduced into all the American 
colonies, but everywhere else the introduction had been eifected by those 
who were engaged in the slave-trade. In South Carolina alone was the 
system adopted as a political and social experiment and with a view to the 
regular establishment of a laboring class in the State. Governor Yeamans 
was the first to accept this policy, which soon became the general policy 
of the province. The importation of negroes went on so rapidly that in 
a short time they outnumbered the whites as two to one. 

Immigration from England did not lag. During the year 1671 a 
system of cheap rents and liberal bounties was adopted by the proprietors, 
and the country was rapidly filled with people. A tract of a hundred and 
fifty acres was granted to every one who would cither immigrate or im- 
port a negro. Fertile lands were abundant. Wars and pestilence had 
almost annihilated the native tribes; vrhole counties were almost without an 
occu^iant. The disasters of one race had prepared the way for the coming 
of another. Onl}' a fevv' years before this time New Netherland had been 
conquered by the English, The Dutch were greatly dissatisfied with the 
government which the duke of York had established over them, and 
began to leave the country. The proprietors of Carolina sent several 
ships to New York, loaded them with the industrious but discontented 
people, and brought them without expense to Charleston. The unoccupied 
lands west of Ashley River were divided among the Dutch, who formed 
there a thriving settlement called Jamestown. The fame of the new 
country reached Holland, and other emigrants left fitherland to join their 
kinsmen in Carolina. Charles II., who rarely aided a colony, collected a 
company of Protestant refugees from the South of Europe, and sent them 
to Carolina to introduce the silk-worm and to begin the cultivation of the 
grape. 

In 1680 the present capital of South Carolina was founded. The 
site of Old Charleston had been hastily and injudiciously selected. The 



232 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

delightful peninsula called Oyster Point, between Ashley and Cooper 
Rivers, was now chosen as the spot on which to build a city. The erec- 
tion of thirty dwellings during the first summer gave proof of enterprise ; 
the name of Charleston was a second time bestowed, and the village 
immediately became the capital of the colony. The unhealthy climate 
for a "while retarded the progress of the new town, but the people were 
full of life and enterprise ; storehouses and wharves were built, and mer- 
chant-ships soon began to throng the commodious harbor. 

Injustice provoked an Indian war. Some vagabond Xestoes, whose 
only offence consisted in strolling through the plantations, were shot. 
The tribe aj^pealed to the government, and the proprietors showed a wil- 
lingness to punish the wrongdoers ; but the pioneers were determined to 
fight and the savages were naturally revengeful. Scenes of violence con- 
tinued along the border, and hostilities began in earnest. In the prosecu- 
tion of the war the colonists were actuated by a shameful spirit of avarice. 
The object was not so much to punish or destroy the savages as to take 
them prisoners. A bounty was offered for every captured Indian, and as 
fast as the warriors were taken they were sold as slaves for the West In- 
dies. The petty strife continued for a year, and was then concluded with 
a treaty of peace. Commissioners were appointed, to whom all complaints 
and disputes between the natives and the colonists should henceforth be 
submitted. 

South Carolina was favored with rapid immigration, and the immi- 
grants were worthy to become the founders of a great State. The best 
nations of Europe contributed to people the country between Cape Fear 
and the Savannah. England continued to send her colonies. In 1683 
Joseph Blake, a brother of the great English admiral, devoted his fortune 
and the last years of his life to bringing a large company of dissenters 
from Somersetshire to Charleston. In the same year an Irish colony 
under Ferguson arrived at Ashley River, and met a hearty welcome. A 
company of Scotch Presbyterians, ten families in all, led by the excellent 
Lord Cardross, settled at Port Royal in 1684. The authorities of Charles- 
ton claimed jurisdiction there, and the new immigrants reluctantly yielded 
to the claim. Two years afterward a band of Spanish soldiers arrived 
from St. Augustine, and the unhappy Scotch exiles were driven from their 
homes. But intolerant France gave up more of her subjects than did all 
the other nations. 

As early as 1598 Henry IV., king of the French, had published a 
celebrated proclamation, called the Edict of Nantes, by the terms of which 
the Huguenots were protected in their rights of religious worship. Now, 
after eighty-seven years of toleration, Louis XIV., blinded with bigotry 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 233 

and passion and hoping to make Catholicism universal, revoked the kindly 
edict, and exposed the Protestants of his kingdom to the long-suppressed 
rage of their enemies. In order to enforce the decree of revocation the 
French army was quartered in the towns of the Huguenots, the ports were 
closed against emigration, and the borders were watched to prevent escape. 
How foolish are the ways of despotism ! In spite of every precaution, 
five hundred thousand of tlie best people of France, preferring banishment 
to religious thraldom, escaped from their country and fled, self-exiled, into 
foreign lands. The Huguenots were scattered from the Baltic Sea to the 
Cape of Good Hope, and on the Western continent from Maine to Flor- 
ida. But of all the American colonies, South Carolina received the great- 
est number of French refugees within her borders. They were . met by 
the proprietors with a pledge of protection and a promise of citizenship ; 
but neither promise nor pledge was immediately fulfilled, for the colony 
had not yet determined what should be its laws of naturalization. Both 
the general assembly and the proprietors claimed the right of fixing the 
conditions. Until that question could be decided the Huguenots were 
kept in suspense, and were sometimes unkindly treated by the jealous 
English settlers. Not until 1697 were all discriminations against the 
French immigrants removed. 

In 1686 came James Colleton as colonial governor. He began his 
administration with a foolish attempt to establish the mammoth constitu- 
tion of Locke and Shaftesbury. No wonder that the assembly resisted 
his authority, and that the people were embittered against him. The rents 
came due; payment was refused, and the colony was in a state of rebellion. 
In order to divert attention from himself, Colleton published a proclama- 
tion setting forth the danger of a pretended invasion by the Indians and 
Spaniards. The militia was called out and the province declared under 
martial law. It was all in vain. The people were only exasperated by 
the arbitrary proceedings of the governor. Tidings came that James II. 
had been driven from the throne of England. The popular assembly was 
convened, and William and Mary were proclaimed as sovereigns. In 
1690 a decree of impeachment was passed against Colleton, and he was 
banished from the province. 

The people of North Carolina had just performed a similar service 
for Seth Sothel. Not satisfied with his previous success, he at once re- 
paired to Charleston and assumed the government of the southern colony. 
To Sothel's other merits were added the qualifications of a first-rate dem- 
agogue ; he induced tlie people to acquiesce in his usurpation and to sus- 
tain his authority. But his avaricious disposition could not long be held 
in check. The proprietors disclaimed his acts and after a turbulent rule 



234 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of two years, he and his government were overthrown. One bright page 
redeems the record of his administration. In May of 1691 the first gen- 
eral act of enfranchisement was passed in favor of the Huguenots. 

Philip Ludwell, who had been collector of customs in Virginia, 
and since 1689 governor of North Carolina, was now sent to establish 
order in the southern province. He spent a year in a well-meant effort 
to administer the government of the proprietors; but the people were 
fixed in their antagonism to the constitution, and nothing could be accom- 
plished. Ludwell gave up the hopeless task, withdrew from the prov- 
ince, and returned to Virginia. South Carolina had fallen into a condi- 
tion bordering on anarchy. 

Nearly a cjuarter of a century had elapsed since Locke drafted the 
grand model. At last the proprietors came to see that the establishment 
of such a monstrous frame of government over an American colony was 
impossible. Pride said that the constitution should stand, for the nobility 
of England had declared it immortal. But self-interest and common 
sense demanded its abrogation, and the demand prevailed. In April of 
1693 the proprietors assembled and voted the boasted model out of exist- 
ence. It was enacted at the same meeting that since the people of Caro- 
lina preferred a simple charter government, their request be granted. 
The magnificent paper empire of Shaftesbury Avas swept into oblivion. 

Thomas Smith was now appointed governor, but was soon super- 
seded by John Archdale, a distinguished and talented Quaker. Arriving 
in 1695, he began an administration so just and wise that dissension ceased 
and the colony entered upon a new career of prosperity. The quit-rents 
on lands were remitted for four years. The people were given the option 
of paying their taxes in money or in produce. The Indians were concili- 
ated with kindness and protected against kidnappers. Some native Cath- 
olics were ransomed from slavery and sent to their homes in Florida, and 
the Spanish governor reciprocated the deed with a friendly message. 
When the old jealousy against the Huguenots asserted itself in the gen- 
eral assembly, the benevolent influence of Archdale procured the passage 
of a law by which all Christians, except the Catholics, were fully enfran- 
chised ; the ungenerous exception was made against the governor's will. 
It was a real misfortune to the colony when, in 1698, the good governor 
was recalled to England. 

James Moore was next commissioned as chief magistrate. The 
first important act of his administration was a declaration of hostilities 
against the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine. Queen Anne's War had 
broken out. The Spaniards were in alliance with the French against the 
English, By the antagonism of England and Spain, South Carolina and 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 235 

Florida were brought into conflict. Yet a declaration of war was strong- 
ly opposed in the assembly at Charleston, and was only passed by a 
small majority. It was voted to raise and equip a force of twelve hun- 
dred men, and to invade Florida by land and water. The summer of 
1 702 w^as spent in preparation, and in September the expeditions departed, 
the land-forces led by Colonel Daniel and the fleet commanded by the 
governor. 

The English vessels sailed down the coast, entered the St. John's 
and blocked up the river. Daniel marched overland, reached St. Augus- 
tine and captured the town. But the Spaniards withdrew without serious 
loss into the castle, and bade defiance to the besiegers. Without artillery 
it was evident that the place could not be taken. Colonel Daniel was 
despatched with, a sloop to Jamaica to procure cannons for the siege ; but 
before his return two Spanish men-of-war appeared at the mouth of the 
St. John's, and Governor Moore found himself blockaded. His courage 
was not equal to the occasion. Abandoning his ships, he took to the 
shore, and collecting his forces hastily retreated into Carolina. Daniel 
returned and entered the St. John's, but discovered the danger in time to 
make his escape. The governor's retreat occasioned great dissatisfaction. 
There were insinuations of cowardice and threats of impeachment, but 
no formal action was taken against him. The only results of the unfor- 
tunate expedition were debt and paper money. In order to meet the 
heavy expenses of the war, the assembly was obliged to issue bills of 
credit to the amount of six thousand pounds sterling. 

Governor Moore retrieved his reputation by invading the Indian 
nations south-west of the Savannah. In December of 1705 he left the 
province at the head of fifty volunteers and a thousand friendly natives. 
White men had not been seen marching in these woods since the days of 
De Soto. On the 14th of the month the invaders reached the fortified 
town of Ayavalla, in the neighborhood of St. Mark's. An attack was 
made and the church set on fire. A Franciscan monk came out and 
begged for mercy ; but the place was carried by assault, and more than 
two hundred prisoners were taken, only to be enslaved. On the next day 
Moore's forces met and defeated a large body of Indians and Spaniards. 
Five important towns were carried in succession, and the English flag 
was borne in triumph to the Gulf of Mexico. Communication between 
the Spanish settlements of Florida and the French posts in Louisiana 
was entirely cut off. 

INIeanwhile, the Church of England had been established by law 
in South Carolina. In the first year of Johnston's administration the 
High Church party succeeded in getting a majority of one in the colonial 



236 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

assembly, and immediately passed an act disfranchising all the dissenters 
in the province. An appeal was carried to the proprietors, only to be re- 
jected with contempt. The dissenting party next laid their cause before 
Parliament, and that body promptly voted that the act of disfranchisement 
was contrary to the laws of England, and that the proprietors had for- 
feited their charter. The queen's ministers were authorized to declare the 
intolerant law null and void. In November of the same year the colo- 
nial leerislature revoked its own act so far as the disfranchisino- clause was 
concerned ; but Episcopalianism continued to be the established faith of 
the j^rovince. 

The year 1706 was a stirring epoch in the history of South Caro- 
lina. A French and Spanish fleet was sent from Havana to capture 
Charleston and subdue the country. The orders were more easily given 
than executed. The brave people of the caj)ital flew to arms. Governor 
Johnson and Colonel William Rhett inspired the volunteers with courage; 
and when the hostile squadron anchored in the harbor, the city was ready 
for a stubborn defence. Several times a landing was attempted, but the 
invaders were everywhere repulsed. At last a French vessel succeeded in 
getting to shore with eight hundred troo^^s, but they were attacked with 
fury and driven off with a loss of three hundred in killed and prisoners. 
The siege was at once abandoned ; unaided by the proprietors, South Car- 
olina had made a glorious defence. 

In the spring of 1715 war broke out with the Yamassees. As 
usual with their race, the Indians began hostilities with treachery. At 
the very time when Captain Nairne was among them as a friendly ambas- 
sador, the wily savages rose upon the frontier settlements and committed 
an atrocious massacre. The people of Port Royal were alarmed just in 
time to escape in a ship to Charleston. The desperate savages rushed on 
to within a short distance of the capital. It seemed that the city Avould 
be taken and the whole colony driven to destruction. But the brave 
Charles Craven, governor of the province, rallied the militia of Colleton 
district, and the blood-stained barbarians were driven back. A vigorous 
pursuit began, and the savages were pressed to the banks of the Salke- 
hatchie. Here a decisive battle was fought, and the Indians were com- 
pletely routed. The Yamassees collected their shattered tribe and retired 
into Florida, where they were received by the Spaniards as friends and 
confederates. 

In 1719 the government of South Carolina was revolutionized. 
At the close of the war with the Yamassees the assembly petitioned the 
proprietors to bear a portion of the expense. But the avaricious noble- 
men refused, and would take no measures for the future protection of the 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 237 

colony. The people were greatly burdened with rents and taxes. The 
lauds were monopolized ; every act of the assembly which seemed for the 
public good was vetoed by the proprietors. In the new election every 
delegate was chosen by tlie popular party. The 21st of December was 
training-day in Charleston. On that day James Moore, the new chief 
magistrate elected by the jicople, was to be inaugurated. Governor John- 
son forbade the military display and tried to prevent the inauguration ; 
but the militia collected in the public square, drums were beaten, flags 
were flung out on the forts and shipping, and before nightfall the propri- 
etary government of Carolina was overthrov/n. Governor ]\Ioore was 
duly inaugurated in the name of King George I. A colonial agent was 
at once sent to England ; the cause of the colonists was heard, and the 
forfeited charter of the proprietors abrogated by act of Parliament. 

Francis Nicholson was now commissioned as governor. He had 
already held the oflice of chief magistrate in Xew York, in Virginia, in 
Maryland and in Nova Scotia. He began a successful administration in 
South Carolina by concluding treaties of peace and commerce with the 
Cherokees and the Creeks. But another and final change in colonial 
affairs was now at hand. In 1729 seven of the eight proprietors of the 
Carolinas sold their entire claims in the provinces to the king. Lord 
Carteret, the eighth proprietor, would surrender nothing but his right of 
jurisdiction, reserving his share in the soil. The sum paid by King 
George for the two colonies ^^•as twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds 
sterling. Royal governors were appointed, and the affairs of the province 
were settled on a permanent basis, not to be disturbed for more than forty 
years. 

The people who colonized South Carolina were brave and chival- 
rous. On the banks of the Santee, the Edisto and the Combahee were 
gathered some of the best elements of the European nations. The Hu- 
guenot, the Scotch Presbyterian, the English dissenter, the loyalist and 
Hioh Churchman, the Irish adventurer and the Dutch mechanic, com- 
posed the powerful material out of which soon grew the beauty and re- 
nown of the Palmetto State. Equally with the rugged Puritans of 
the North, the South Carolinians were lovers of liberty. Without the 
severe morality and formal manners of the Pilgrims, the people who were 
once governed by the peaceful Archdale and once led to war by the gallant 
Craven became the leaders in courtly politeness and high-toned honor be- 
tween man and man. In the coming struggle for freedom South Caro- 
lina will bear a noble and distinguished part ; the fame of the patriotic 
Rhett will be perpetuated by Marion and Sumter. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

GEORGIA. 

r^ EORGIA, the thirteenth American colony, was founded in a spirit 
vX of pure benevolence. The laws of England permitted imprisonment 
for debt. Thousands of English laborers, who through misfortune and 
thoughtless contracts had become indebted to the rich, were annually ar- 
rested and thrown into jail. There were desolate and starving families. 
The miserable condition of the debtor class at last attracted the attention 
of Parliament. In 1 728 a commissioner was appointed, at his own I'equest, 
to look into the state of the poor, to visit the prisons of the kingdom, and 
to report measures of relief. The work was accomplished, the jails were 
opened, and the poor victims of debt returned to their liomes. 

The noble commissioner was not yet satisfied. For the liberated 
prisoners and their friends were disheartened and disgraced in the country 
of their birth. Was there no land beyond the sea where debt was not a 
crime, and where poverty was no disgrace ? To provide a refuge for the 
down-trodden poor of England and the distressed Protestants of other 
countries, the commissioner now appealed to George II. for the privilege 
of planting a colony in America. The petition Avas favorably heard, and 
on the 9th of June, 1732, a royal charter was issued by which the terri- 
tory between the Savannah and Altamaha Pivers, and westward from the 
upper fountains of those rivers to the Pacific, Avas organized and granted 
to a corporation for twenty-one years, to ha held in trust for the poor. In 
honor of the king, the new province received the name of Georgia. 
But what was the name of that high-souled, unselfish commissioner of 
Parliament ? 

James Oglethorpe, the philanthropist. Born a loyalist, educated at 
Oxford, a High Churchman, a cavalier, a soldier, a member of Parliament, 
benevolent, generous, full of sympathy, far-sighted, brave as John Smith, 
chivalrous as De Soto, Oglethorpe gave in middle life the full energies of 
a vigorous body and a lofty mind to the work of building in the sunny 
South an asylum for the oppressed of his own and other lands. The 
magnanimity of the enterprise was heightened by the fact that he did not 
believe in the equality of men, but only in the right and duty of the strong 
to protect the Aveak and sympathize with the lowly. To Oglethorpe, as 



GEORGIA. 



239 



principal member of the corporation, the leadership of the first colony to 
be planted on the banks of the Savannah, was naturally entrusted. 

By the mid- 
dle of November a 
hundred and twen- 
ty emigrants were 
ready to sail for 
the New World. 
Oglethorpe, like 
the elder Win- 
throp, determined 
to sliare the dan- 
gers and hardships 
of his colony. In 
January of 1 733 
the company was 
welcomed at 
Charleston. Pass- 
ing down the coast, 
the vessels were 
anchored f o r a 
short time at Beau- 
fort, while the gov- 
ernor M'ith a few 
com ])an ions as- 
cended the bound- 
ary river of Georgia, and selected as the site of his settlement the high 
bluff on which now stands the city of Savannah. Here, on the 1st day of 
February, were laid the foundations of the oldest English town south of 
the Savannah River. Broad streets were laid out ; a public square was 
reserved in each quarter ; a beautiful village of tents and board houses, 
built among the pine trees, appeared as the capital of a new connuon- 
wealth where men were not imprisoned for debt. 

Tomo-chichi, chief of the Yamacraws, came from his cabin, half a 
mile distant, to see his brother Oglethorpe. There was a pleasant con- 
ference. " Here is a present for you," said the red man to the white man. 
The present was a buffalo robe painted on the inside with the head and 
feathers of an eagle. " The feathers are soft, and signify love ; the buf- 
falo skin is the emblem of protection. Therefore love us and protect us," 
said the old chieftain. Such a plea could not be lost on a man like Ogle- 
thorpe. Seeing the advantages of peace, he sent an invitation to the chiefs 




JAMES OGLETHORPE. 



240 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the Muskhogees to meet liim in a general council at his capital. The 
conference was held on the 29tli of May. Long King, the sachem of 
Oconas, spoke for all the tribes of his nation. The English were wel- 
comed to the country. Bundles of buckskins, and such other good gifts 
as savage civilization could oifer, M'ere laid down plentifully at the feet 
of the whites. The governor and his poor but generous colony responded 
witli vahiable presents and words of faithful friendship. The fame of 
Oglethorpe spread far and wide among the Red men. From the distant 
mountains of Tennessee came the noted chief of the Cherokees to confer 
with, the humane and sweet-tempered governor of Georgia. 

The councilors in England wlio managed the affairs of the new 
State encouraged emigration with every liberal offer. Swiss peasants left 
their mountains to find a home on the Savannah. The plaid cloak of the 
Scotch Highlander was seen among the wigwams of the jNIuskhogees. 
From distant Salzburg, afar on the borders of Austria, came a noble col- 
ony of German Protestants, singing their way down the Ilhine and across 
the ocean. Oglethorpe met them at Charleston, bade them welcome, led 
them to Savannah and thence through the woods to a jaoint twenty miles 
up the river, told them of English rights and the freedom of conscience, 
and left them to found the village of Ebenezer. 

In April of 1734, Governor Oglethorpe made a visit to England. 
His friend Tomo-chichi went with him, and made the acquaintance of 
King George. It was said in London that no colony was ever before 
founded so wisely and well as Georgia. The councilors prohibited the 
importation of rum. Traffic with the Indians — always a dangerous mat- 
ter — was either interdicted or regulated by special license. When it came 
to the question of labor, slavery was positively forbidden. It was said 
that the introduction of slaves would be fatal to the interests of the Eng- 
lish and German laborers for whom the colony had been founded. While 
the governor was still abroad, the first company of INIoravians, number- 
ing nine, and led by the evangelist Spangenberg, arrived at Savannah. 

In February of 1736, Oglethorpe himself came back with a new 
colony of three hundred. Part of these were Moravians, and nearly all 
were people of deep piety and fervent spirit. First among them — first 
in zeal and first in the influence which he was destined to exert in after 
times — was the celebrated John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. 
Overflowing with religious enthusiasm, he came to Georgia, not as a poli- 
tician, not as a minister merely, but as an apostle. To lead the people to 
righteousness, to spread the gospel, to convert the Indians, and to intro- 
duce a new type of religion characterized by few forms and much emo- 
tion, these were the purposes that thronged his lofty fancy. He M'as 



GEORGIA. 241 

doomed to much disappointment. The mixed people of the new province 
could not be moulded to his %vill ; and after a residence of less than two 
years he left the colony with a troubled spirit. His brother, Charles 
Wesley, came also as a secretary to Governor Oglethorpe ; but Charles 
was a poet, a timid and tender-hearted man who pined with homesickness 
and gave way under discouragement. But when, in 1738, the famous 
George Whitefield came, his robust and daring nature proved a match for 
all the troubles of the wilderness. He preached with fiery eloquence. 
To build an orphan-house at Savannah he went through all the colonies; 
and those who heard his voice could hardly refuse him money. Think- 
ing no longer of native land, he found a peaceful grave in New England. 
Meanwhile, Oglethorj^e was busy with the affairs of his growing 
province. Anticipating war with Spain, he began to fortify. For the 
Spaniards were in possession of Florida, and claimed the country as far 
north as St. Helena Sound. All of Georgia Avas thus embraced in the 
Spanish claim. But Oglethorj)e had a charter for Georgia as far south 
as the Altamaha, and he had secured by treaty with the Indians all the 
territory between that river and the St. Mary's. In 1736 he ascended 
the Savannah and built a fort at Augusta. On the north bank of the 
Altamaha, twelve miles from its mouth. Fort Darien was built. On 
Cumberland Island, at the mouth of the St. INIary's, a fortress was erected 
and named Frederica. Proceeding down the coast with a company of 
Highlanders, the daring governor reached the mouth of the St. John's, 
and on Amelia Island built still another fort, which he named St. George. 
The river St. John's was claimed from this time forth as the southern 
boundary of Georgia. To make his preparations complete, the governor 
again visited England, and was commissioned as brigadier-general, with a 
command extending over his OAvn province and South Carolina. In Octo- 
ber of 1737 he returned to Savannah, bringing with him a regiment of 
six hundred men. Such were the vigorous measures adopted by Ogle- 
thorpe in anticipation of a Spanish war. 

The war came. It was that conflict known in American history as 
King George's War. England published her declaration of hostility 
against Spain in the latter part of October, 1739. In the first week of 
the following January the impetuous Oglethorpe, at the head of the 
Georgia militia, made a dash into Florida, and captured two fortified towns 
of the Spaniards. His plans embraced the conquest of St. Augustine and 
the entire extinction of Spanish authority north of the Gulf of Mexico. 
Repairing to Charleston, he induced the assembly to support his measures. 
By the first of May he found himself in command of six hundred regular 
troops, four hundred volunteers and a body of Indian auxiliaries. With 



242 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



this force he proceeded at once against St. Augustine. The place was 
strongly fortified, and the Sjjanish commandant, Monteano, was a man of 
ability and courage. The siege continued for five weeks, but ended in 
disaster to the English. For a while the town was successfully block- 
aded ; but some Spanish galleys, eluding the vigilance of Oglethorpe's 

squadron, brought a cargo of supplies 
to the garrison. The Spaniards made 
a sally, attacked a company of High- 
landers, and dispersed them. Sickness 
prevailed in the English camp. The 
general himself was enfeebled with fever 
and excitement, but he held on like a 
hero. The troops of Carolina, disheart- 
ened and despairing of success, left their 
camp and marched homeward. The 
English vessels gathered up their crews, 
abandoned the siege and returned to 
Frederica. Oglethorpe, yielding only 
to necessity, collected his men from the 
trenches and withdrew into Georgia. 

The Spaniards now determined 
to carry the war northward and drive 
the English beyond the Savannah. The 
Combahee Kiver should be made the 
p northern boundary of Florida. Prep- 
arations began on a vast scale. A pow- 
erful fleet of thirty-six vessels, carrying more than three thousand troops, 
was brought from Cuba, and anchored at St. Augustine. In June of 
1742 the squadron passed up the coast to Cumberland Island, and at- 
tempted the reduction of Fort William. But Oglethorpe by a daring 
exploit reinforced the garrison, and then fell back to Frederica. The 
Spanish vessels followed and came to anchor in the harbor of St. Simon's. 
From the southern point of the island to Frederica, Oglethorpe had cut a 
road which at one place lay between a morass and a dense forest. Along 
this path the Spaniards must pass to attack the town. The English gen- 
eral had only eight hundred men and a few Indian allies. In order to 
cope with superior numbers, Oglethorpe resorted to stratagem. 

A Frenchman had deserted to tlie Spaniards. To him the English 
general now wrote a letter as if to a spy. A Spanish prisoner in Ogle- 
thorpe's hands was liberated and bribed to deliver the letter to the de- 
serter. The Frenchman was advised that two British fleets were coming 




COTTKTRY OF THE SAVANNAH, 1740. 



GEORGIA. 243 

to America, one to aid Oglethorpe and tlie other to attack St. Augustine. 
Let the Spaniards remain on the island but three days longer/ and they 
would Ije ruined. If the enemy did not make an immediate attack on 
Frederica, his forces would be captured to a man. Oglethorpe knew very 
well that the prisoner, instead of delivering this letter to the deserter, 
would give it to the Spanish commander, and that the Spanish connnander 
could not possibly know whether the communication was the truth or a 
fiction. This letter ^^'as delivered, and the astonished Frenchman was 
arrested as a spy, but the Spaniards could not tell whether his denial was 
true or false. There was a council of Avar in the Spanish camp. Ogle- 
thorpe's stratagem Avas suspected, but could not be proved. Three ships 
had been seen at sea that day ; perhaps these were the first vessels of the 
approaching British fleets. The Spaniards were utterly perplexed ; but 
it Avas finally decided to take Oglethorpe's advice, and make the attack 
on Frederica. 

The English general had foreseen that this course would be adopted. 
He had accordingly advanced his small force from the town to the place 
where the road passed between the swamp and the forest. Here an am- 
buscade was formed, and the soldiers lay in Avait for the approaching Span- 
iards. On the 7th of July the enemy's vanguard reached the narrow pass, 
were fired on* from the thicket and driven back in confusion. The main 
body of the Spanish forces pressed on into the dangerous position Avhere 
superior numbers Avere of no advantage. Tlie Highlanders of Oglethorpe's 
regiment fired Avith terrible eifect from the oak Avoods by the roadside. 
The Spaniards stood firm for a Avhile, but AA'ere presently driven back Avith 
a loss of two hundred men. Not Avithout reason the name of Bloody 
Marsh Avas given to this battle-field. Within less than a Aveek the Avhole 
Spanish force had re-embarked and sailed for Florida. On the AA-ay south- 
AA'ard the fleet made a second attack on Fort William. But Captain Stuart, 
Avith a garrison of only fifty men, made a vigorous and successful defence. 
The English AA^atched the retreating ships beyond the mouth of the St. 
John's ; before the last of July the great iuA^asion AA'as at an end. The 
Spanish authorities of Cuba Avere greatly chagrined at the failure of the 
expedition. The commander of the squadron Avas arrested, tried by a 
court-martial and dismissed from the serAace. 

The commouAvealth of Georgia Avas now firmly established, and the 
settlements had peace. In 1743, Oglethorpe bade a final adieu to the col- 
ony to AA-hose Avelfare he had giA'en more than ten years of his life. He 
had ncA'cr OAvned a house nor possessed an acre of ground Avithin the lim- 
its of his OAvn province. He noAV departed for England croAvned AA'ith 
blessings, and leaA^ng behind him an untarnished fame. James Ogle- 



244 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

thorj^e lived to be nearly a hundred years old; benevolence, integrity an3 
honor were the virtues of his declining years. But the new State which 
he had founded in the West was not ahNays free from evils. 

For the regulations which the councilors for Georgia had adopted 
were but poorly suited to the wants of the colony. The settlers had not 
been permitted to hold their lands in fee simple. Agriculture had not 
flourished. Commerce had not sprung up. The laws of property had 
been so arranged that estates could descend only to the oldest sons of fam- 
ilies. The colonists were })oor, and charged their poverty to the fact that 
slave-labor was forbidden in the province. This became the chief ques- 
tion which agitated the peojile. The proprietary laws grew more and 
more unpopular. The statute excluding slavery was not rigidly enforced, 
and, indeed, could not be enforced, Avhen the people had determined to 
evade it. Whitefield himself pleaded for the abrogation of the law. 
Slaves began to be hired, first for short terms of service, then for longer 
periods, then for a hundred years, which was equivalent to an actual pur- 
chase for life. Finally, cargoes of slaves were brought directly from 
Africa, and the primitive free-labor system of Georgia was revolutionized. 
Plantations ^^-ere laid out below the Savannah, and cultivated, as those of 
South Carolina. 

Another and more important change was at hand. It became 
evident that there could be no progress so long as the original char- 
ter remained in force. However benevolent the impulse which had 
called Georgia into being, the scheme of government had proved a 
sham. The jjeople were improvident, idle, inexperienced. More than 
six hundred thousand dollars in parliamentary grants, besides private 
contributions amounting to nearly ninety thousand dollars, had been 
fruitlessly expended on the lagging province. In 1752 there were 
only a few scattered plantations and three inconsiderable villages be- 
low the Savannah. The white population amounted, at this time, to 
seventeen hundred souls ; and the blacks numbered about four hun- 
dred. The industry of Georgia was at a stand-still. The extravagant 
hopes which the colonial managers had entertained of wine, and silk, 
and indigo, found no realization in the facts. The annual exports of 
the colony amounted to less than four thousand dollars ; and the pros- 
pect for the future Avas as discouraging as the present condition was 
gloomy. 

At last, however, the new order of things was acknowledged by 
the councilors of the province. They yielded to necessity. In June 
of 1752, just twenty years from the granting of the charter, the trust- 
ees made a formal surrender of their patent to the king. A royal 



GEORGIA. 245 

government was established over the country south of the Savannah, 
and the people were granted the privileges and freedom of English- 
men. A constitution was drawn up by the British Board of Trade, 
and Captain John Reynolds was commissioned as royal governor. In 
October of 1754 he arrived at Savannah and began the work of reor- 
ganization. For two years and a half he labored assiduously to ex- 
tricate the affairs of Georgia from the confusion into which they had 
fallen ; and so successful was his work that at the end of this time 
the population had reached six thousand. The southern boundary- of 
the province remained to be decided by the issue of the French and 
Indian War. During the progress of that conflict Georgia was saved 
from calamity by the prudent administration of Governor Ellis, who 
secured from the powerful Creek confederacy a new treaty of peace. 
A barrier was thus interposed between the colony and the hostile 
nations of the West and North. In the year 1758 the province was 
divided into eight parishes, and at the same time the Church of Eng- 
land was established by law. Still, for a while, the progress of the 
colony was not equal to the expectations of its founder. But before 
the beginning of the Revolution, Georgia, though the feeblest of all 
the Anglo-American provinces, had become a prosperous and growing 
State. 



Such is the story of the planting by our fathers of the Old Thir- 
teen republics — such the record of their growth and prospects. From 
the gloomy coast of Labrador, where, two hundred and fifty years be- 
fore, John Cabot had set up the flag of England and arms of Henry 
VII., to the sunny waters where Ponce de Leon, looking shoreward, 
called his cavaliers to gaze on the Land of Flowers, — the dominion 
of Great Britain had been established. Would that dominion last 
forever? Would the other nations of Europe ever rally and regain 
their lost ascendency on the Western continent? Would the ties of 
kinship, the affinity of language, the bond of a common ancestry, 
stretching from these sea-shore commonwealths across the Atlantic, 
bind them in perpetual union with the mother Islands ? Would these 
isolated provinces in ximerica — now so quick to take offence at each 
other's beliefs and actions, and so easily jealous of each other's power 
and fame — ever unite in a common cause? ever join to do battle for 
life and liberty ? ever become a Nation ? Such were the momentous 
questions, the problems of destiny, which hung above the colonies at 



246 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the middle of the eighteenth century — problems which the future 
could not be long in solving. 

The history of tliese American colonies from their first feeble be- 
ginnings is full of interest and instruction. The people who laid the 
foundations of civilization in the New World were nearly all refugees, 
exiles, wanderers, pilgrims. They were urged across the ocean by a 
common impulse, and that impulse was the desire to escape from some 
form of oppression in the Old World. Sometimes it was the oppres- 
sion of the Church, sometimes of the State, sometimes of society. In 
the wake of the emigrant ship there was always tyranny. Men loved 
freedom ; to find it they braved the perils of the deep, traversed the 
solitary forests of Maine, built huts on the bleak shores of New Eng- 
land, entered the Hudson, explored the Jerseys, found shelter in the 
Chesapeake, met starvation and death on the banks of the James, were 
buffeted by storms around the capes of Carolina, built towns by the 
estuaries of the great rivers, made roads through the pine-woods, and 
carried the dwellings of men to the very margin of the fever-haunted 
swamps of the South. It is all one story — the story of the human rac^ 
seeking for liberty, 



COLONIAL HISTORY.— CoxTiNUED. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

CAUSES. 

THE time came wlien the American colonies began to act together. 
From the beginning they had been kept apart by prejudice, suspi- 
cion and mutual jealousy. But the fathers were now dead, old antago- 
nisms had passed aAvay, a new generation had arisen with kindlier feel- 
ings and more charitable sentiments. But it was not so much the groAvth 
of a more liberal public opinion as it was the sense of a common danger 
that at last led the colonists to make a united effort. The final struggle 
between France and England for colonial supremacy in America was 
at hand. Necessity compelled the English colonies to join in a com- 
mon cause ao;ainst a common foe. This is the conflict known as the 
French axd Indian War ; with this great event the separate histories 
of the colonies are lost in the more general history of the nation. The 
contest began in 1754, but the causes of the war had existed for many 
years. 

The first and greatest of these causes was the conflicting territorial 
claims of the two nations. England had colonized the sea-coast ; France 
had colonized the interior of the continent. From Maine to Florida the 
Atlantic shore was spread with English colonies; but there were no inland 
settlements. The great towns were on the ocean's edge. But the claims 
of England reached far beyond her colonies. Based on the discoveries 
of the Cabots, and not limited by actual occupation, those claims extended 
westward to the Pacific. In making grants of territory the English 
kings had always proceeded upon the theory that the voyage of Sebastian 
Cabot had given to England a lawful right to the country from one ocean 
to the other. Far different, however, were the claims of France ; the 

French had first colonized the valley of the St. Lawrence. Montreal, one 

(247) 



248 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the earliest settlements, is more than five hundred miles from the sea. 
If the French colonies had been limited to the St. Lawrence and its trib- 
iitarieSj there would have been little danger of a conflict about territorial 
dominion. But in the latter half of the seventeenth century the French 
began to jjush their way westward and southward ; first, along the shores 
of the great lakes, then to the head-waters of the Wabash, the Illinois, 
the AYisconsin and the St. Croix, then down these streams to the Missis- 
sippi, and then to the Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of the French, as 
manifested in these movements, Avas no less than to divide the American 
continent and to take the larger portion, to possess the land for France 
and for Catholicism. For it was the work of the Jesuit missionaries. 
So important and marvelous are those early movements of the French in 
the valley of the JSIississippi that a brief account of the leading explora- 
tions may here be given. 

The zealous Jesuits, purposing to extend the Catholic fixith to all 
lands and nations, set out fearlessly from the older settlements of the St. 
Lawrence to explore the unknown West, and to convert the barbarous 
races. In 1641, Charles Raymbault, the first of the French missionary 
explorers, passed through the northern straits of Lake Huron and entered 
Lake Superior. In the thirty years that followed, the Jesuits continued 
their explorations with prodigious activity. Missions were established at 
various points north of the lakes, and in Michigan, AYisconsin and Illi- 
nois. In 1673, Joliet and Marquette passed from the head-waters of 
Fox River over the watershed to the upper tributaries of the "Wisconsin, 
and thence down that river in a seven days' voyage to the IVIississippi. 
For a full mouth the canoe of the daring adventurers carried them on 
toward the sea. They passed the mouth of Arkansas River, and reached 
the limit of their voyage at the thirty-third parallel of latitude. Turn- 
ing their boat up stream, tliey entered the mouth of the Illinois and 
returned by the site of Chicago into Lake Michigan, and thence to De- 
troit. But it Avas not yet known M-hether the great river discharged its 
flood of waters into the southern gulf or into the Pacific Ocean. 

It remained for Robert de la Salle, most illustrious of the French 
explorers, to solve the problem. This courageous and daring man was 
living at the outlet of Lake Ontario when the news of Marquette's 
voyage reached Canada. Fired with the passion of discovery. La Salle 
built and launched the first ship above Niagara Falls. He sailed west- 
ward through Lake Erie and Lake Huron, anchored in Green Bay, 
crossed Lake ]Michigan to the mouth of the St. Joseph, ascended that 
stream with a few companions, traversed the country to the upper Kanka- 
kee, and droj^ped down with the current into the Illinois. Here disas- 



CAUSES. 249 

ters overtook the expedition, and La Sallo wHs obliged to return on foot 
to Fort Frontcnac, a distance of nearly a thousand miles. During his 
absence, Father Hennepin, a member of the company, traversed Illinois, 
and explored the Mississippi as high as the Falls of St. Anthony. 

In 1681, La Salle returned to his station on the Illinois, bringing 
men and supplies. A boat was built and launched, and early in the 
following year the heroic adventurer, with a few companions, descended 
the river to its junction with the Mississippi, and was borne by the 
Father of "Waters to the Gulf of INIexico. It was one of the greatest 
exploits of modern times. The return voyage was successfully accom- 
plished. La Salle reached Quebec, and immediately set sail for France. 
The kingdom was greatly excited, and vast plans were made for coloniz- 
ing the valley of the Mississippi. In July of 1684 four ships, bearing 
two hundred and eighty emigrants, left France. Beaujeu commanded 
the fleet, and La Salle was leader of the colony. The plan was to enter 
the gulf, ascend the river, and plant settlements on its banks and tributa- 
ries. But Beaujeu was a bad and headstrong captain, and against La 
Salle's entreaties the squadron was carried out of its course, beyond the 
mouths of the Mississippi, and into the Bay of JNIatagorda. Here a 
landing was effected, but the store-ship, with all its precious freightage, 
was dashed to pieces in a storm. Nevertheless, a colony was established, 
and Texas became a part of Louisiana. 

La Salle made many unsuccessful efforts to rediscover the INIissis- 
sippi. One misfortune after another followed fast, but the leader's reso- 
lute spirit remained tranquil through all calamities. At last, with sixteen 
companions, he set out to cross the continent to Canada. The march 
began in January of 1687, and continued for sixty days. The wanderers 
were already in the basin of the Colorado. Here, on the 20tli of March, 
while La Salle was at some distance from the camp, Uvo conspirators of 
the company, hiding in the prairie gi'ass, took a deadly aim at the 
famous explorer, and shot him dead in his tracks. Only seven of the 
adventurers succeeded in reachino; a French settlement on the Mis- 
sissippi. 

France was not slow to occupy the vast countr}' revealed to her 
by the activity of the Jesuits. As early as 1688 military posts had 
been established at Frontenac, at Niagara, at the Straits of INIackinaw, 
and on the Illinois River. Before the middle of the eighteenth century, 
permanent settlements had been made by the French on the ]Maumee, at 
Detroit, at the mouth of the river St. Joseph, at Green Bay, at Yincennes 
on the Lower Wabash, on the Mississippi at the mouth of the Ivaskas- 
kia, at Fort Rosalie, the present site of Natchez, and on the Gulf of 



250 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mexico at the head of the Bay of Biloxi. At this time the only outposts 
of the English colonies were a small fort at Oswego, on Lake Ontario, 
and a few scattered cabins in West Virginia. It only remained for 
France to occupy the valley of Ohio, in order to confine the provinces of 
Great Britain to the country east of the Alleghanies. To do this became 
the sole ambition of the French, and to prevent it the stubborn purpose 
of the English. 

A second cause of war existed in the lonQ;-standino; national animos- 
ity of France and England, The two nations could hardly remain at 
j^eace. The French and the English were of different races, languages 
and laws. For more than two centuries France had been the leader of 
the Catholic, and England of the Protestant, powers of Europe. Religious 
jDrcjudice intensified the natural jealousy of the two nations. Rivalry 
prevailed on land and sea. When, at the close of the seventeenth century, 
it was seen that the people of the English colonies outnumbered those of 
Canada b}' nearly twenty to one, France was filled with envy. When, 
by the enterprise of the Jesuit missionaries, the French began to dot the 
basin of the Mississippi with fortresses, and to monopolize the fur-trade 
of the Indians, England could not conceal her wrath. It was only a 
question of time when this unreasonable jealousy would bring on a colo- 
nial war. 

The third and immediate cause of hostilities was a conflict between 
the frontiersman of the two nations in attempting to colonize the Ohio 
valley. The year 1749 witnessed the beginning of difficulties. For 
some time the strolling traders of Virginia and Pennsylvania had fre- 
quented the Indian towns on the upper tributaries of the Ohio. Now the 
traders of Canada began to visit the same villages, and to compete with 
the English in the purchase of furs. Virginia, under her ancient char- 
ters, claimed the whole country lying between her western borders and 
the southern shores of Lake Erie. The French fur-gatherers in this dis- 
trict were regarded as intruders not to be tolerated. In order to prevent 
further encroachment, a number of prominent Virginians joined them- 
selves together in a body called the Ohio Company, with a vicAv to 
the immediate occupation of the disputed territory. Robert Dinwiddle, 
governor of the State, Lawrence and Augustus Washington, and Thomas 
Lee, president of the Virginia council, were the leading members of the 
corporation. In March of 1749 the company received from George 11. 
an extensive land-grant covering a tract of five hundred thousand acres, 
to be located between the Kanawha and the IMonongahela, or on the 
northern bank of the Ohio. The conditions of the grant were that the 
lai.ds should be held free of rent for ten years, that within seven years a 



CAUSES. 251 

Ciolony of one hundred families should be established in the district, and 
that the territory should be immediately selected. 

But the French were equally active. Before the Ohio Company 
could send out a colony, the governor of Canada despatched Bienville 
with three hundred men to explore and occupy the valley of the Ohio. 
The expedition was successful. Plates of lead bearing French inscrip- 
tions were buried here and there on both banks of the river, the region was 
explored as far west as the towns of the Miamis, the English traders were 
expelled from the country, and a letter was written to Governor Hamil- 
ton of Pennsylvania admonishing him to encroach no farther on tlie 
territory of the king of France. This work occupied the summer and 
fall of 1749. In the mean time, the Ohio Company had equipped an 
exploring party, and placed it under command of Christopher Gist. In 
Xovember of 1750 he and his company reached the Ohio opposite the 
mouth of Beaver Creek. Here the expedition crossed to the northern 
side, tarried at Logstown, passed down the river through the several 
Indian confederacies to the Great Miami, and thence to within fifteen 
miles of the falls at Louisville. Returning on foot through Kentucky, 
the explorers reached Virginia in the spring of 1751. 

This expedition was followed by still more vigorous movements on 
the part of the French. Descending from their headquarters at Presque 
Isle, now Erie, on the southern shore of the lake, they built a fortress 
called Le Boeuf, on French Creek, a tributary of the Alleghany. Pro- 
ceeding down the stream to its junction with the river, they erected a 
second fort, named A^cnango. From this point they advanced against a 
British post on the jNIiami, broke up the settlement, made prisoners of 
the garrison and carried them to Canada. The king of the Miami con- 
federacy, who had assisted the English in defending their outpost, was 
inhumanly murdered by the Indian allies of the French. About the 
same time the country south of the Ohio, between the Great Kanawha 
and the Monongahela, was explored by Gist and a party of armed sur- 
veyors, acting under orders of the company. In the summer of 1753 the 
English opened a road from Will's Creek through the mountains into the 
Ohio valley, and a colony of eleven families was planted on the Youghi- 
ogheny, just west of Laurel Hill. It was impossible that a conflict be- 
tween the advancing settlements of the two nations could be much longer 
averted. 

The Indian nations were greatly alarmed at the threatening pros- 
pect. Solemn councils were held among all the tribes, and the affairs of 
the race were gravely discussed by the copper-colored orators. From the 
first the Red men rather favored the English cause, but their allegiance 



252 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

was wavering and uncertain. After the murder of the Miami chieftain 
their hostility to the French became more decided. When, in the spring 
of 1753, the news was borne to the council-fires on the Ohio that Du 
Quesne, the governor of Canada, had despatched a company of twelve 
hundred men to descend the Alleghany and colonize the country, the 
jealousy of the natives was kindled into open resistance. The tribes 
most concerned were the Delawares, the Shawnees, the Miamis and the 
Mingoes. The chieftain of this confederacy, named Tanacharisson, was 
called the Half-King from the fact that his subjects, except the Miamis, 
owed a kind of indefinite allegiance to the Iroquois or Six Nations. By 
the authority of a great council held at Logstown the Half-King was now 
sent to Erie to remonstrate with the French commandant against a further 
invasion of the Indian country. " The land is mine, and I will have it," 
replied the Frenchman, with derision and contempt. The insulted 
sachem returned to his nation to lift the hatchet against the enemies of 
his people. It was at this time that the chiefs of many tribes met Benja- 
min Franklin at the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and formed a treaty 
of alliance with the English. 

Virginia was now thoroughly aroused. But before proceeding to 
actual hostilities, Governor Dinwiddle determined to try the eifect of a 
final remonstrance with the French. A paper was accordingly drawn up 
setting forth the nature and extent of the Ehiglish claim to the valley of 
the Ohio, and solemnly warning the authorities of France against further 
intrusion into that region. It was necessary that this paper should be 
carried to General St. Pierre, now stationed at Erie as commander of the 
French forces in the West. Who should be chosen to bear the important 
parchment to its far-off destination ? It was the most serious mission 
ever yet undertaken in America. A young surveyor, named George 
Washington, was called to perform the perilous duty. Him the 
governor summoned from his home on the Potomac and commissioned as 
ambassador, and to him was committed the message which M^as to be 
borne from Williamsburg, on York River, tln-ough the untrodden Avilder- 
ness to Presque Isle, on the shore of Lake Erie. 

On the last day of October, 1753, Washington set out on his long 
journey. He was attended by four comrades besides an interpreter and 
Christopher Gist, the guide. The party arrived without accident at the 
mouth of Will's Creek, the last important tributary of the Potomac on 
the north. From this place Washington proceeded through the moun- 
tains to the head-waters of the Youghiogheny, and thence down that 
stream to the site of Pittsburg. The immense importance of this place, 
lying at the confluence of the two great tributaries of the Ohio, and com- 



CAUSES. 



25.3 




FIRST SCENE OF THE FRENCH AND 
INDIAN WAR, 1750. 



manding them both, was at once perceived by the young ambassador, ^^■ho 
noted the spot as the site of a fortress. Washington was now conducted 
across the Alleghany by the chief of 
the Delawares, and thence twenty 
miles down the river to Logstown. 
Here a council was held with the 
Indians, who renewed their pledges 
of friendship and fidelity to the Eng- 
lish. The emissaries of the French 
were already in the country trying 
in every conceivable way to entice 
the Red men into an alliance ; but 
every proposal was rejected. In the 
beginning of December, Washington 
and his party moved northward to 
the French post at Venango. The 
officers of the fort took no pains to 
conceal their purpose ; the project of 
uniting Canada and Louisiana by 
way of the Ohio valley was openly avowed. 

From A^enango, Washington set out through the forest to Fort le 
Boeuf on French Creek, fifty miles above its junction with the Alleghany. 
This was the last stage in the journey. It was still fourteen miles to 
Presque Isle ; but St. Pierre, the French commander, had come down 
from that place to superintend the fortifications at Le Boeuf. Here the 
conference was held. Washington was received with great courtesy, 
but the general of the French refused to enter into any discussion on the 
rights of nations. He was acting, he said, under military instructions 
given by the governor of New France. He had been commanded by his 
superior officer to eject every Englishman from the valley of the Ohio, 
and he meant to carry out his orders to the letter. A firm but courteoas 
reply was returned to Governor Dinwiddle's message. France claimed 
the country of the Ohio in virtue of discovery, exploration and occupa- 
tion, and her claim should be made good by force of arms. 

Washington was kindly dismissed, but not until he had noted with 
keen anxiety the immense preparations which were making at Le Boeuf. 
There lay a fleet of fifty birch-bark canoes and a hundred and seventy 
boats of pine ready to descend the river to the site of Pittsburg, For the 
French, as well as the English, had noted the importance of that sj)ot, 
and had determined to fortify it as soon as the ice should break in the 
rivers. It was now the dead of winter. Washington returned to Ve- 



254 HISTORY. OF THE UNITED STATES. 

nango, and then, with Gist as his sole companion, left the river and 
struck into the woods. It was one of the most solitary marches ever 
made by man. There in the desolate wilderness was the future President 
of the United States. Clad in the robe of an Indian, with gun in hand 
and knapsack strapped to his shoulders ; struggling through interminable 
snows ; sleeping with frozen clothes on a bed of pine-brush ; breaking 
through the treacherous ice of rapid streams ; guided by day by a pocket 
compass, and at night by the North Star, seen at intervals through the 
leafless trees ; fired at by a prowling savage from his covert not fifteen 
steps away ; thrown from a raft into the rushing Alleghany ; escaping to 
an island and lodging there until the river was frozen over ; plunging 
again into the forest ; reaching Gist's settlement and then the Potomac, — 
the strong-limbed young ambassador came back without wound or scar to 
the capital of Virginia. For his flesh was not made to be torn with 
bullets or to be eaten by the wolves. The defiant despatch of St. Pierre 
was laid before Governor Dinwiddle, and the first public service of Wash- 
ington was accomplished. 

In the mean time, the Ohio Company had not been idle. About 
mid-winter a party of thirty-three men had been organized and placed 
under command of Trent, with orders to proceed at once to the source of 
the Ohio and erect a fort. The company must have been marching to its 
destination when Washington returned to Virginia. It was not fai* from 
the middle of March, 1754, when Trent's party reached the confluence 
of the Alleghany and the Monongahela, and built the first rude stockade 
on the site of Pittsburg.* After all the threats and boasting of the 
French, the English had beaten them and seized the key to the Ohio 
valley. 

But it was a short-lived triumph. As soon as the approaching 
spring broke the ice-gorges in the Alleghany, the French fleet of boats, 
already prepared at Venango, came sweeping down the river. It Avas in 
vain for Trent with his handful of men to offer resistance. Washington 
had now been commissioned as lieutenant-colonel, and was stationed at 
Alexandria to enlist recruits for the Ohio. A regiment of a hundred and 
fifty men had been enrolled ; but it was impossible to bring succor to 
Trent in time to save the post. On the 17th of April the little band of 
Englishmen at the head of the Ohio surrendered to the enemy and with- 
drew from the country. The French immediately occupied the place, 
felled the forest-trees, built barracks and laid the foundations of Fort 
DU QuESNE. To recapture this place by force of arms Colonel Wash- 
ington set out from Will's Creek in the early part of May, 1754. Xego- 
* The accounts of this important event are very obscure and unsatisfactory. 



CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. 255 

tiations had failed ; remonstrance had been tried in vain ; the possession 
of the disputed territory was now to be determined by the harsher methods 
of war. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. 

WASHINGTOX now found himself in command of a little army of 
Virginians. His commission was brief and easily understood : To 
construct a fort at the source of the Ohio ; to destroy whoev^er opposed 
him in tlie work ; to capture, kill or repel all who interrupted the progress 
of the English settlements in that country. In the month of April the 
young commander left Will's Creek, but the march westward was slow 
and toilsome. The men were obliged to drag their cannons. The roads 
were miserable ; rain fell in torrents on the tcntless soldiers ; rivers were 
bridgeless ; provisions insufficient. All the while the faithful Half-King 
was urging Washington by repeated despatches to hasten to the rescue of 
the Red men. 

On the 26th of IMay the English regiment reached the Great 
Meadows. Here Washington was informed that a company of French 
w^as on the march to attack him. The enemy had been seen on the 
Youghiogheny only a few miles distant. A stockade was immediately 
erected, to which the commander gave the appropriate name of Fort 
Necessity. Ascertaining from the scouts of the Half-King that the French 
company in the neighborhood was only a scouting-party, Washino-ton, 
after conference with the Mingo chiefs, determined to strike the first blow. 
Two Indians followed the trail of the French, and discovered their hiding- 
place in a rocky ravine. The English advanced cautiously, intending to 
surprise and capture the whole force ; but the French were on the alert, 
saw the approaching soldiers and flew to arms. Washington with 
musket in hand was at the head of his company. " Fire !" AA^as the clear 
command that rang through the forest, and the first volley of a great AA'ar 
went flying on its mission of death. The engagement AA'as brief and 
decisive. Jumon\'ille, the leader of the French, and ten of his party Avere 
killed, and tAA-enty-one AA-ere made prisoners. 

A month of precious time AA-as noAv lost in delays. While Washing- 
ton at Fort Necessity Avaited in A^ain for reinforcements, the French at 



256 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Fort clu Quesne were collecting in great numbers. One small company 
of volunteers from South Carolina arrived at the English camp ; but the 
cajitain was an arrogant blockhead who, having a commission from the 
king, undertook to supersede Washington. The latter, Avith the Vir- 
ginians, spent the time of waiting in cutting a road for twenty miles 
across the rough country in the direction of Fort du Quesne. The In- 
dians were greatly discouraged at the dilatory conduct of the colonies, 
and the strong war-parties which had been expected to join Washington 
from the Muskingum and the Miami did not arrive. His whole effect- 
ive force scarcely numbered four hundred. Learning that the French 
general De Villiers was approaching with a large body of troops, besides 
Indian auxiliaries, Washington deemed it prudent to fall back to Fort 
Necessity. The Carolina captain, who had remained within the fortifica- 
tions, had done nothing to strengthen the works, although there was the 
greatest need. 

The little fort stood in an open space, midway between two emi- 
nences covered with trees. Scarcely were Washington's forces safe within 
the enclosure, when on the 3d of July the regiment of De Villiers, num- 
bering six hundred, besides the savage allies, came in sight, and surrounded 
the fort. The French stationed themselves on the eminence, about sixty 
yards distant from the stockade. From this position they could fire down 
upon the English with fatal effect. Many of the Indians climbed into 
the tree-tops, where they were concealed by the thick foliage. For nine 
hours, during a rain-storm, the assailants poured an incessant shower of 
balls upon the heroic band in the fort. Thirty of Washington's men 
were killed, but his tranquil presence encouraged the rest, and the fire of 
the French was returned with unabated vigor. At length De Villiers, fear- 
ing that his ammunition would be exhausted, proposed a j^arley. Wash- 
ington, seeing that it would be impossible to hold out much longer, ac- 
cepted the honorable terms of capitulation which were offered by the 
French general. On the 4th of July the Englisli garrison, retaining all 
its accoutrements, marched out of the little fort, so bravely defended, and 
withdrew from the country. The whole valley of the Ohio remained in 
undisturbed possession of the French. 

Meanwhile, a congress of the American colonies had assembled at 
Albany. The objects had in view were twofold : first, to renew the 
treaty with the Iroquois confederacy ; and secondly, to stir up the colonial 
authorities to some sort of concerted action against the French. The 
Iroquois had Avavered from the beginning of the war ; the recent reverses 
of the English had not strengthened the loyalty of the Red men. As to 
the French aggressions, something must be done speedily, or the flag of 



CAMPAIGNS OF WASHINGTON AND BRADDOCK. 257 

England could never be borne into the vast country west of the Alle- 
ghanies. The congress was not wanting in abilities of the highest order. 
No such venerable and dignified body of men had ever before assembled 
on the American continent. There were Hutchinson of Massachusetts, 
Hopkins of Rhode Island, Franklin of Pennsylvania, and others scarcely 
less distinguished. After a few days' consultation, the Iroquois, but half 
satisfied, renewed their treaty and departed. The chieftains were anxious 
and uneasy lest, through inactivity and want of union on the part of the 
colonies, the Six Nations should be left to contend alone with the power 
of France. 

The convention next took up the important question of uniting the 
colonies in a common government. On the 10th day of July, Benjamin 
Franklin laid before the commissionei's the draft of a federal constitu- 
tion. His vast and comprehensive mind had realized the true condition 
and wants of the country ; the critical situation of the colonies demanded 
a central government. How else could revenues be raised, an army l^e 
organized and the common welfare be provided for? According to the 
proposed plan of union, Philadelphia, a central city, was to be the cap- 
ital. It was urged in behalf of this clause that the delegates of New 
Hampshire and Georgia, the colonies most remote, could reach the seat 
of government in fifteen or twenty days ! Slow-going old patriots ! The 
chief executive of the new confederation was to be a governor-general 
appointed and supported by the king. The legislative authority M^as 
vested in a congress composed of delegates to be chosen triennially by the 
general assemblies of the respective provinces. Each colony should be 
represented in proportion to its contributions to the general government, 
but no colony should have less than two or more than seven represent- 
atives in congress. With the governor was lodged the power of appoint- 
ing all military officers and of vetoing objectionable laws. The appoint- 
ment of civil officers, the raising of troops, the levying of taxes, the super- 
intendence of Indian affiiirs, the regulation of commerce, and all the 
general duties of government, belonged to congress. This body was to 
convene once a year, to choose its own officers, and to remain in session 
not longer than six weeks.* 

Such was the constitution drafted by Franklin and adopted, not 
without serious opposition, by the commissioners at Albany. It remained 
for the colonies to ratify or reject the new scheme of government. Copies 
of the proposed constitution were at once transmitted to the several colon- 
ial capitals, and were everywhere received with disfavor ; in Connecticut, 
rejected ; in Massachusetts, opposed ; in New York, adopted with indiffer- 
ence. The chief objection urged against the instrument was the power of 
^' *See Appendix C. 



258 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

veto given to the governor-general. Nor did the new constitution fare 
l>etter in the mother country. The English board of trade rejected it 
with disdain, saying that the froward Americans were trj'ing to make a 
government of their own. Meanwhile, the French were strengthening 
their works at Crown Point and Fort Niagara, and rejoicing over their 
success in Western Pennsylvania. 

But the honor of England, no less than the welfare of her colonies, 
was at stake, and Parliament came to the rescue. It was determined to 
send a British army to America, to accept the service of such provincial 
troops as the colonies might furnish, and to protect the frontier against 
the aggressions of France. As yet there had been no declaration of war. 
The ministers of the two nations kept assuring each other of peaceable 
intentions ; but Louis XV. took cai'e to send three thousand soldiers to 
Canada, and the British government ordered General Edward Braddock 
to proceed to America with two regiments of regulars. Early in 1755 
the English armament arrived in the Chesapeake. On the 14th of April 
Braddock met the governors of all the colonies in a convention at Alex- 
andria. The condition of colonial affairs was fully discussed. It was 
resolved, since peace existed, not to invade Canada, but to repel the 
French on the Avestern and northern frontier. The plans of four cam- 
paigns were accordingly submitted and ratified. Lawrence, the governor 
of Nova Scotia, was to complete the conquest of that province according to 
the English notion of boundaries. Johnson of New York was to enroll 
a force of volunteers and Mohawks in British pay, and to capture the 
French post at Crown Point. Shirley of ISIassachusetts was to equip a 
regiment and drive the enemy from their fortress at Niagara, Last and 
most important of all, Braddock himself as commander-in-chief was to 
lead the main body of regulars against Fort du Qucsne, retake that post 
and expel the French from the Ohio valley. 

In the latter part of April the British general set out on his march 
from Alexandria to Will's Creek. The name of the military post at the 
mouth of this stream was now changed to Fort Cumberland. Braddock's 
army numbered fully two thousand men. They were nearly all veterans 
who had seen service in the wars of Europe. A few provincial troops 
had joined the expedition ; two companies of volunteers, led by Colonel 
Horatio Gates of New York, were among the number. Washingto;>'met 
the army at Fort Cumberland, and became an aid-de-camp of Braddock. 
The colonies would have assisted with large levies of recruits, had it not 
been for the nature of the general's authority. It was prescribed in his 
commission that the provincial captains and colonels should have no ranh 
when serving in connection with the British army. So odious was this 



CA3IPAIGNS OF WASHINGTOX AND BRADDOCK. 259 

regulation that Washington had set the example of withdrawing from the 
service ; patriotic motives and the wish of Virginia now induced him to 
return and to accept a j)Ost of responsibility. 

On the last day of May the march began from Fort Cumberland. 
A select force of five hundred men was thrown forward to open the roads 
in the direction of Fort du Quesne. Sir Peter Halket led the advance, 
and Braddock followed Avith the main body. The army, marching in a 
slender column, was extended for four miles along the narrow and broken 
road It was in vain that Washington pointed out the danger of am- 
buscades and suggested the employment of scouting-parties. Braddock 
was self-willed, arrogant, proud ; thoroughly skilled in the tactics of 
European Avarfare, he could not bear to be advised by an inferior. The 
sagacious Franklin had admonished him to move with caution ; but he 
only replied that it was impossible for savages to make any impression on 
His Majesty's regulars. Now, when Washington ventured to repeat the 
advice, Braddock flew into a passion, strode up and down in his tent, and 
said that it was high times when Colonel Buckskin could teach a British 
general how to fight. 

On the 19th of June, Braddock put himself at the head of twelve 
hundred chosen troops and pressed forward more rapidly. Colonel Dun- 
bar was left behind with the remainder of the army. On the 8th of July 
the van reached the junction of the Youghiogheny and the Monongahela. 
It was only twelve miles farther to Fort du Quesne, and the French gave 
up the place as lost. On the next morning the English array advanced 
along the Monongahela, and at noon crossed to the northern bank just 
beyond the confluence of Turtle Creek. Still there was no sign of an 
enemy. Colonel Thomas Gage was leading forward a detachment of three 
hundred and fifty men. The road was but twelve feet wide ; the country 
uneven and woody There was a dense undergrowth on either hand; 
rocks and ravines ; a hill on the right and a dry hollow on the left. A 
few guides were in the advance, and some feeble flanking-parties ; in the 
rear came the general with the main division of the army, the artillery 
and the baggage. All at once a quick and heavy fire was heard in the 
front. 

France was not going to give up Fort du Quesne without a strug- 
gle. For two months the place had been receivijig reinforcements ; still 
the garrison was by no means able to cope with Braddock's army. Even 
the Indians realized the disparity of the contest. It was with great difii- 
culty that, on the night before the battle, the commandant of tlie fort 
induced the savages to join in the enterprise of ambuscading the British. 
At last a force of two hundred and thirty French, led by Beaujeu and 

% 



260 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Dumas, and a body of six hundred and tliirty-seven Indians set out from 
Du Quesne with a view to harass and annoy the English rather than to 
face them in a serious battle. It M'as the purpose of the Freucli, who 
were entirely familiar with the ground, to lay an ambuscade at a favor- 
able point seven miles distant from the fort. They were just reaching 
the selected spot and settling into ambush when the flanking-parties of 
the English came in sight. The French fired ; the Indians yelled and 
slunk into their hiding-places, and the battle began. 

If Gage had at once thrown forsvard his forces to the support of 

the guards, the day could have been 
saved ; but he was confused and un- 
decided. The flanking parties were 
driven in, leaving their six-pounders 
in the hands of the enemy. Gage's 
men wavered, and were mixed in the 
thickset underwood with a regiment 
which Braddock had pushed forward 
to the rescue. The confusion became 
greater, and there were symptoms of 
a panic. The men fired constantly, 
but could see no enemy. Every 
volley from the hidden foe flew with 
deadly certainty into the crowded 
ranks of the English. The rash but 
brave general rushed to the front and 
rallied his men with the energy of despair ; but it was all in vain. The 
men stood huddled together like sheep, or fled in terror to the rear. The 
forest was strewn with the dead ; the savages, emlwldencd by their unex- 
pected success, crept farther and farther along the flanks; and the battle 
became a rout. Braddock had five horses shot under him ; his secretary 
was killed ; both his English aids were disabled ; only Washington re- 
mained to distribute orders. Out of eighty-two officers twenty-six were 
killed and thirty-seven wounded. Of the privates seven hundred and 
fourteen were dead or bleeding with wounds. At last the general re- 
ceived a ball in his right side and sank fainting to the ground. "What 
shall we do now, colonel ?" said he to Washington, who came to his assist- 
ance. " Retreat, sir — retreat by all means," replied the young hero, upon 
whom everything now depended. His own bosom had been for more 
than t\vo horn's a si)ecial target for the savages. Two horses had fallen 
under him, and fonr times his coat had been torn with balls. A Shawnee 
t'hief singled him out and bade his warriors do the same ; but their volleys 




SCENE OF BRADDOCK'S DEFEAT, 1755. 



RUIN OF ACADIA. 261 

"went by harmless. The retreat began at once, and the thirty Virginians, 
Avho, with Washington, were all that remained alive, covered the flight of 
the ruined army. The artillery, provisions, baggage and private papers 
of the general were left on the field. 

The losses of the French and Indians were slight, amounting to 
three officers and thirty men killed, and as many others wounded. There 
M'as no attempt made at pursuit. The savages fairly reveled in the spoils 
of the battle-field. They had never known so rich a harvest of scalps 
and booty. The tawny chiefs returned to Fort du Quesne clad in the 
laced coats, military boots and cockades of the British officers. The 
dying Braddock was borne in the train of the fugitives. Once he roused 
himself to say, " Who would have thought it?" and again, "We shall 
better know how to deal with them another time." On the evening of 
the fourth day he died, and \vas buried by the roadside a mile west of Fort 
Necessity. When the fugitives reached Dunbar's camp, the confusion was 
greater than ever. Dunbar was a man of feeble capacity and no courage ; 
pretending to have the orders of the dying general, he proceeded to de- 
stroy the remaining artillery, the heavy baggage, and all the public stores, 
to the value of a hundred thousand pounds. Then followed a precipitate 
retreat to Fort Cumberland, and then an abandonment of that place for 
the safer precincts of Philadelphia. It was only the beginning of August, 
yet Dunbar pleaded the necessity of finding winter quarters for his forces. 
The great expedition of Braddock had ended in such a disaster as sjiread 
consternation and gloom over all the colonies. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

RUIN OF ACADIA. 



BY the treaty of Utrecht, made in 1713, the province of Acadia, or Xova 
Scotia, was ceded by France to England. During the following fifty 
years the colony remained under the dominion of Great Britain, and was 
ruled by English officers. But the great majority of the people were 
French, and the English government amounted only to a military occu- 
pation of the peninsula. The British colors, floating over Louisburg and 
Annapolis, and the presence of British garrisons here and there, were the 
only tokens that this, the oldest French colony in America, had passed 
under the control of foreigners. 



262 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



E vr 






At the time of the cession the population amounted to about three 
thousand j by the outbreak of the French and Indian War the number 
had increased to more than sixteen thousand. Lawrence, the dei)uty- 
governor of the province, pretended to fear an insurrection. AVhen Brad- 
dock and the colonial governors convened at Alexandria, it was urged 
that something must be done to overawe the French and strengthen the 
English authority in Acadia. The enterprise of reducing the French 
peasants to complete humiliation was entrusted to Lawrence, who was 
to be assisted by a British fleet under Colonel Monckton. On the 20th of 
]May, 1755, the squadron, with three thousand troops, sailed from Boston 
for the Bay of Fundy. 

The French had but two fortified posts in the province ; both of 
these were on the isthmus which divides Nova Scotia from New Bruns- 
wick. The first and most important fortress, named Beau-Sejour, was sit- 
uated near the mouth of Messagouche 
Creek, at the head of Chignecto Bay. 
The other fort, a mere stockade called 
Gaspereau, was on the north side of 
the isthmus, at Bay Verte. De Ver- 
gor, the French commandant, had 
no intimation of approaching danger 
till the English fleet sailed fearlessly 
into the bay and anchored before the 
walls of Beau-Sejour. There was no 
preparation for defence. On the 3d 
of June the English forces landed, 
and on the next day forced their way 
across the Messagouche. A vigorous 
siege of four days folloAved. Fear and confusion reigned among the gar- 
rison ; no successful resistance could be offered. On the 16th of the month 
Beau-Sejour capitulated, received an English garrison and took the name 
of Fort Cumberland. The feeble post at Gaspereau was taken a few days 
afterward, and named Fort INIonckton. Captain Rous was despatched with 
four vessels to capture the fort at the mouth of the St. John's ; but before 
the fleet could reach its destination, the French reduced the town to ashes 
and escaped into the interior. In a campaign of less than a month, and 
with a loss of only twenty men, the English had made themselves masters 
of the whole country east of the St. Croix. 

The war in Acadia was at an end ; but what should be done Avith 
people? The French inhabitants still outnumbered the English 




THE ACADIAN ISTHMUS, 1755. 



the 

nearly three to one. 



Governor Lawrence and Admiral Boscawen, in con- 



V 



RUIN OF ACADIA. 



263 



ference with the chief justice of the province, settled upon the atrocious 
measure of driving the people into banishment. The first movement was 
to demand an oath of allegiance which was so framed that the French, as 
honest Catholics, could not take it. The j^riests advised the peasants to 
declare their loyalty, but refuse the oath, which was meant to ensnare their 
souls. The next step on the jDart of the English was to accuse the French 
of treason, and to demand the surrender of all their firearms and boats. 
To this measure the broken-hearted people also submitted. They even 
offered to take the oath, but Lawrence declared that, having once refused, 
they must now take the consequences. The British vessels were made 
ready, and the work of forcil)le embarkation began. 

The country about the isthmus was covered with peaceful hamlets. 




THE EXILE OF THE ACADIANS.* 



These were now laid waste, and the people driven into the larger towns on 
the coast. Others were induced by artifice and treachery to put them- 
selves into the power of the English. Wlierever a sufficient number of 
the French could be gotten together they were driven on shipboai-d. 
They were allowed to take their wives and children and as much propei-t}^ 
as would not be inconvenient on the vessels. The estates of the province 
were confiscated, and what could not be appropriated was given to the 

* Longfellow's Evangeline is founded on this incident. 



264 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

flames. The wails of thousands of bleeding hearts were wafted to heaven 
with the smoke of burning homes. At the village of Grand Pre four 
hundred and eighteen unarmed men were called together and shut up in 
a church. Then came the wives and children, the old men and the 
mothers, the sick and the infirm, to share the common fate. The whole 
company numbered more than nineteen hundred souls. The poor crea- 
tures were driven down to the shore, forced into the boats at the point 
of the bayonet, and carried to the vessels in the bay. As the moaning 
fugitives cast a last look at their pleasant town, a column of black smoke 
floating seaward told the story of desolation. ]\Iore than three thousand 
of the hapless Acadians were carried away by the British squadron and 
scattered, helpless, half starved and dying, among the English colonies. 
The history of civilized nations furnishes no parallel to this wanton and 
wicked destruction of an inoffensive colony. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

EXPEDITIONS OF SHIRLEY AND JOHNSON. 

THE third campaign planned by Braddock at Alexandria was to be 
conducted by Governor Shirley of Massachusetts. The expedition 
was to proceed from Albany to Oswego, and thence by water to the 
mouth of the Niagara. It was known that Fort Niagara was an insig- 
nificant post, depending for its defence upon a small ditch, a rotten 
palisade and a feeble garrison. To capture this place, to obtain command 
of the river, and to cut off the communications of the French by way of 
the lakes, were the objects of the campaign. " Fort du Quesne can hardly 
detain me more than three or four days," said Braddock to Shirley, " and 
then I will meet you at Niagara." 

In the early part of August, Shirley set out at the head of nearly 
two thousand men. It was the last of the month before lie reached 
Oswego. Here the provincial forces had been ordered to assemble. Four 
weeks were spent in preparing boats for embarkation. When everything 
was in readiness, a storm arose ; and when the storm abated, the winds blew 
in the wrong direction. Then came another tempest and another delay ; 
then sickness prevailed in the camp. AVith the beginning of October 



EXPEDITIONS OF SHIRLEY AND JOHNSON. 



265 



Shirley declared the lake to be dangerous for navigation. The Indians 
deserted the standard of a leader whose skill in war consisted in framing 
excuses. The fact was that the general, while on the march to Oswego, 
had learned of the destruction of Braddock's army, and feared that a sim- 
ilar fate might overtake his OM'n. On the 24th of October the greater 
l^art of the provincial forces, led by Shirley, marched homeward. Only 
one result of any importance followed from the campaign — the fort at 
Oswego was well rebuilt and garrisoned with seven hundred men under 
Mercer. 

Far more important was the expedition entrusted to General Wil- 
liam Johnson. The object had in view was to capture the enemy's fort- 
ress at Crown Point, and to drive the French from the shores of Lake 
Champlain. Johnson's army numbered three thousand four hundred 
men, including a body of friendly Mohawks. The active work of the 
campaign began early in August, when General Phineas Lyman, at the 
head of the New England troops, proceeded to the Hudson above Albany, 
and at a point just below where the river bends ab- 
ruptly to the west built Fort Edward. Thither in 
the last days of summer came the commanding general 
with the main division. The watershed between the 
Hudson and Lake George is only twelve miles wide. 
Johnson's army marched across to the head of the lake 
and laid out a commodious camj). A week was spent 
in bringing forward the artillery and stores. The 
soldiers were busy preparing boats for embarkation, 
and the important matter of fortifying the camp was 
wholly neglected. 

In the mean time, Dieskau, the daring command- 
ant at Crown Point, determined to anticipate the 
movements of the English. With a force of fourteen 
hundred French, Canadians and Indians he sailed up 
Lake Champlain to South Bay. From this point he marched to the 
upper springs of Wood Creek, intending to strike to the south, pass the 
English army and capture Fort Edward before the alarm could be given. 
But the news was carried to General Johnson ; and a force of a thousand 
men under command of Colonel Williams, accompanied by Hendrick, tlio 
gray-haired chieftain of the Mohawks, with two hundred warriors, was 
sent to the relief of the endangered fort. On the previous night Dieskau's 
guides had led him out of his course. On the morning of the 8th of 
September the French general found himself and his army about four 
miles north of Fort Edward, on the main road from the Hudson to Lake 







VICINITY OF LAKE 
GEORGE, 1755, 



266 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

George. Just at this time Colonel Williams's regiment and the Mohawks 
came in sight, marching toward the fort. Dieskau quickly formed an 
ambush, and the English were entrapped ; but the Indian allies of the 
French showed themselves to their countrymen, and would not fire. The 
Canadians and the French poured in a deadly volley ; both Williams and 
Hendrick fell dead, and the English were thrown into confusion. But 
Colonel AVhiting rallied the troops, returned the enemy's fire, and re- 
treated toward the lake. St. Pierre, one of the French generals, was 
killed. 

The noise of battle was heard in Johnson's camp, and preparations 
were made for a general engagement. There were no entrenchments, but 
trees were hastily felled for breastworks, and the cannons were brought 
into position. It was Dieskau's plan to rush into the English camp 
along with the fugitives whom he was driving before him ; but the In- 
dians, afraid of Johnson's guns, would not join in the assault ; the Red 
men retired to a hill at a safe distance. The Canadians were disheartened ; 
and the handful of French regulars made the onset almost unsupported. 
It was the fiercest battle Avhich had yet been fought on American soil. 
For five hours the conflict was incessant. In the beginning of the engage- 
ment Johnson received a slight wound and left the field ; but the troops 
of New England fought on without a commander. Nearly all of Dieskau's 
regulars were killed. At last the English troops leaped over the fallen 
trees, charged across the field, and completed the rout. Three times 
Dieskau was wounded, but he Avonld not retire. His aids came to bear 
him off; one was shot dead, and he forbade the others. He ordered his 
servants to bring him his military dress, and then seated himself on the 
stump of a tree. A renegade Frenchman belonging to the English army 
rushed up to make him a prisoner. The w^ounded general felt for his 
watch to tender it in token of surrender. The Frenchman, thinking that 
Dieskau was searching for a pistol, fired, and the brave commander fell, 
mortally wounded. 

The victory, though complete, was dearly purchased. Two hun- 
dred and sixteen of the English were killed, and many others wounded. 
General Johnson, who had done but little, was greatly praised ; Parliament 
made him a baronet for gaining a victory which the provincials gained 
for him. Made wiser by the battle, he now constructed on the site of his 
camp a substantial fort, and named it William Henry. The defences of 
Fort Edward were strengthened Avith an additional garrison, and the 
remainder of the troops returned to their homes. Meanwhile, the French 
had reinforced Crown Point, and had seized and fortified Ticonderoga. 
Such was the condition of alFairs at the close of 1755. 



TWO YEARS OF DISASTER. 267 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

TWO YEARS OF DISASTER. 

AFTER the deatli of Braddock the chief command of the English 
forces in America was given to Governor Shirley. But no regular 
military organization had been effected ; and the war was carried on m a 
desultory manner. Braddock had ruined one army ; Shirley had scat- 
tered another. On Lake George, Johnson had achieved a marked suc- 
cess. In the beginning of 1756, Washington at the head of the Vir- 
ginian provincials repelled the French and Indians in the valley of the 
Shenandoah. At the same time the Pennsylvania volunteers, choosing 
Franklin for their colonel, marched to the banks of the Lehigh, built a 
fort, and made a successful campaign. In the preceding December, 
Shirley met the colonial governors at Xew York and planned the move- 
ments for the following year. One expedition, proceeding by way of the 
Kennebec, was to threaten Quebec. Forts Frontenac, Toronto and Niagara 
were to be taken. Du Quesne, Detroit and jNIackinaw, deprived of their 
communications, must of course surrender. 

In the mean time, after much debate in Parliament, it was decided 
to consolidate and put under one authority all the military forces in 
America. The earl of Loudoun received the appointment of commander- 
in-chief. General Abercrombie was second in rank ; and forty British 
and German officers were commissioned to organize and discipline the 
colonial army. In the last of April, 1756, Abercrombie, with two bat- 
talions of regulars, sailed for New York. Lord Loudoun was to follow 
with a fleet of transports, bearing the artillery, tents, ammunition and 
equipage of the exjiedition. The commander waited a month for his 
vessels, and then sailed without them. On the 15th of June a man-of- 
war was despatched to America with a hundred thousand pounds to reim- 
burse the colonies for the expenses of the previous campaigns. At the 
same time the corps of British officers arrived at New York. MeanAvhile, 
on the 17th of May, Great Britain, after nearly two years of actual hos- 
tilities, made an open declaration of war, which was followed by a similar 
declaration on the part of France. 

On the 25th of June, Abercrombie reached Albany. He began his 
great campaign by surveying the town, digging a ditch and quartering 



268 HISTORY OF THE U2^ITED STATES. 

his soldiers with the citizens. In July, Lord Loudoun arrived and 
assumed the command of the colonial army. The French, meanwhile, 
2)rofiting by these delays, organized a force of more than five thousand 
men, crossed Lake Ontario and laid siege to Oswego. The marquis of 
Montcalm, who had succeeded Dieskau as commander-in-chief, led the 
expedition. At the mouth of Oswego River there were two forts ; the 
old block-house on the west and the new Fort Ontario on the east. The 
latter was first attacked. Thirty pieces of cannon Avcre brought to bear 
on the fortress. After a brave defence of one day, the little garrison 
abandoned the works and escaped to the old fort across the river. This 
place was also invested by the French. For two days the English, num- 
bering only fourteen hundred, held out against the besiegers, and then sur- 
rendered. A vast amount of ammunition, small arms, accoutrements 
and provisions fell to the captors. Six vessels of war, three hundred 
boats, a hundred and twenty cannon and three chests of. money were the 
further fruits of a victory by which France gained the only important 
outpost of England on the lakes. To please his Indian allies, Montcalm 
ordered Oswego to be razed to the ground. 

During this summer the Delawares, false to their treaty, rose in 
Western Pennsylvania and almost ruined the country. More than a 
thousand people were killed or carried into captivity. In August, Colonel 
John Armstrong, at the head of three hundred volunteers, crossed the 
Alleghanies, and after a twenty days' march reached the Indian town of Kit- 
taning, forty-five miles north-east from Pittsburg. Lying in concealment 
until daydawn on the morning of September 8th, the English rose against 
the savages, and after a desperate battle destroyed them almost to a man. 
The village was burned and the spirit of the barbarians completely broken. 
The Americans lost sixteen men. Colonel Armstrong and Captain Hugli 
Mercer, afterward distinguished in the Revolution, Mere both severely 
wounded. 

Lord Loudoun continued at Albany. His forces were amply suffi- 
cient to capture every stronghold of Canada in the space of six weeks. 
Instead of marching boldly to the north, he whiled away the summer and 
fall, talked about an attack from tlie French, digged ditches, slandered 
the provincial officers and waited for winter. When the frosts came, he 
made haste to distribute the colonial troops and to quarter the regulars on 
the principal towns. The vigilant French, learning what sort of a general 
they had to cope with, crowded Lake Champlain with boats, strengthened 
Crown Point and completed a fort at Ticonderoga. With the exception 
•of Armstrong's expedition against the Indians, the year 1756 closed with- 
out a single substantial success on the part of the English. 



TWO YEARS OF DISASTEE. 269 

And the year 1757 was equally disastrous. The campaign which 
was planned by Loudoun was limited to the conquest of Louisburg. Ever 
since the treaty of Utrecht the French had retained Cape Breton ; and 
the fortress at Louisburg had been made one of the strongest on the con- 
tinent. On the 20th of June, Lord Loudoun sailed from New York with 
an army of six thousand regulars. By the first of July he was at Hal- 
ifax, where he was joined by Admiral Holbourn with a powerful fleet of 
sixteen men-of-war. There were on board five thousand additional 
troops fresh from the armies of England. Never was such a use made of 
a splendid armament. Loudoun landed before Halifax, cleared off a mus- 
tering plain, and set his officers to drilling regiments already skilled in 
every manoeuvre of war. To heighten the absurdity, the fields about the 
city were planted with onions. For it Avas said that the men might take 
the scurvy ! By and by the news came that the French vessels in the 
harbor of Louisburg outnumbered by one the ships of the English squad- 
ron. To attack a force that seemed superior to his own was not a part of 
Loudoun's tactics. Ordering the fleet to go cruising around Cape Breton, 
he immediately embarked with his army, and sailed for New York. 
Arriving at this place, he proposed to his officers to fortify Long Island 
in order to defend the continent against an enemy whom he outnumbered 
four to one. 

Meanwhile, the daring Montcalm had made a brilliant campaign in 
the country of Lake George. With a force of six thousand French and 
Canadians and seventeen hundred Indians he proceeded up the Sorel, 
entered Lake Champlain, and reached Ticx^nderoga. The object of the 
expedition was to capture and destroy Fort William Henry. The French 
and the Iroquois, who had now abandoned the cause of the colonies, were 
fired with enthusiasm. Dragging their artillery and boats across the 
portage to Lake George, they re-embarked, and on the 3d of August laid 
siege to the English fort. The place was defended by only five hundred 
men under the brave Colonel Monro ; but there were seventeen hundred 
additional troops within supporting distance in the adjacent trenches. All 
this while General Webb was at Fort Edward, but fourteen miles distant, 
with an army of more than four thousand British regulars. Instead of 
advancing to the relief of Fort William Henry, Webb held a council to 
determine if it were not better to retire to Albany, and sent a message to 
Colonel Monro advising capitulation. 

For six days the French pressed the siege with vigor. The ammu- 
nition of the garrison was nearly exhausted ; half of the guns were burst ; 
nothing remained but to surrender. Honorable terms were granted. The 
English, retaining their private effects, were released on a pledge not to 



270 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

re-enter the service for eighteen months. A safe escort was promised to 
Fort Edward. On the 9th of August the French took possession of the 
fortress. Unfortunately, the Indians procured a quantity of spirits from 
the English camp. Maddened with intoxication, and in spite of the 
utmost exertions of Montcalm and his officers, the savages fell upon the 
prisoners and began a massacre. Thirty of the English were tomaha^vked 
and many others dragged away into captivity. The retirement of the 
garrison to Fort Edward became a panic and a rout. 

Such had been the successes of France during the year that the 
English had not a single hamlet or fortress remaining in the whole basin 
of the St. Lawrence. Every cabin where English was spoken had been 
swept out of the Ohio valley. At the close of the year 1757, France pos- 
sessed twenty times as much American territory as England ; and five 
times as much as England and Spain together. Such had been the im- 
becility of the English management in America that the flag of Great 
Britain was brought into disgrace. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 



a RE AT was the discouragement in England. The duke of Newcastle 
and his associates in the government were obliged to resign. A new 
ministry was formed, at the head of which was placed that remarkable 
man William Pitt, called the Great Commoner. The imbecile Lord 
Loudoun was deposed from the American army. General Abercrombie 
was appointed to succeed him; but the main reliance for success was 
placed, not so much on the commander-in-chief, as on an efficient corps 
of subordinate officers whom the wisdom of Pitt now directed to America. 
Admiral Boscawen was put in command of the fleet, consisting of twenty- 
two ships of the line and fifteen frigates. The able general Amherst w^as 
to lead a division. Young Lord Howe, brave and amiable, was next in 
rank to Abercrombie. The gallant James Wolfe led a brigade. General 
Forbes held an important command ; and Colonel Richard Montgomery 
was at the head of a regiment. 

Three campaigns were planned for 1758. Amherst, acting in con- 



TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 271 

junction with the fleet, was to capture Louisburg. Lord Howe, under 
the direction of the commander-in-chief, was to reduce Crown Point 
and Ticonderoga. The recovery of the Ohio valley was entrusted to 
General Forbes. On the 28th of May, Amherst, at the head of ten 
thousand effective men, reached Halifax. In six days more the fleet was 
anchored in Gabarus Bay. Wolfe put his division into boats, rowed 
through the surf under fire of the French batteries, and gained the shore 
without serious loss. The French dismantled their battery and retreated. 
Wolfe next gained possession of the north-east harbor and planted heavy 
guns on the cape near the lighthouse. From this position the island 
battery of the French was soon silenced. Louisburg was fairly invested, 
and the siege was pressed with great vigor. On the 21st of July three 
French vessels were burned in the harbor. Two days later, the Prudent, 
a seventy-four gun ship, was fired and destroyed by the English boats. 
The town was already a heap of ruins, and the walls of the fortress began 
to crumble. For a whole week the French soldiers had no place where 
they could rest in safety ; of their fifty -two cannon only twelve remained 
in position. Further resistance was hopeless. On the 28th of July 
Louisburg capitulated. Cape Breton and Prince Edward's Island were sur- 
rendered to Great Britain. The garrison, together with the marines, in 
all nearly six thousand men, became prisoners of war and were sent to 
England. Amherst after his great success abandoned Louisburg, and the 
fleet took station at Halifax. 

Meanwhile, General Abercrombie had not been idle. On the 5th of 
July an army of fifteen thousand men, led by Lord Howe, reached Lake 
George and embarked for Ticonderoga. With heavy guns and abundant 
stores the e^^pedition proceeded to the northern extremity of the lake and 
landed on the western shore. The country about the French fortress was 
very unfavorable for military operations. The English proceeded with 
great difficulty, leaving their artillery behind. Lord Howe led the ad- 
vance in person. On the morning of the 6th, when the English were 
nearing the fort, they fell in with the picket line of the French, number- 
ing no more than three hundred. A severe skirmish ensued ; the French 
were overwhelmed, but not until they had inflicted on the English a 
terrible loss in the death of Lord Howe. The soldiers were stricken with 
grief, and began a retreat to the landing. Abercrombie was in the rear, 
but the soul of the expedition had departed. 

On the morning of the 8th the English engineer reported falsely 
that the fortifications of Ticonderoga were flimsy and trifling. Again the 
array was put in motion ; and when just beyond the reach of the French 
guns, the divisions were arranged to carry the place by assault. For more 



272 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

than four hours column after column clashed with great bravery against 
the breastworks of the enemy, which were found to be strong and well 
constructed. The defence was made by nearly four thousand French 
under Montcalm, who, with coat off in the hot July afternoon, was every- 
where present encouraging his men. At six o'clock in the evening the 
English were finally rej)ulsed. The carnage was dreadful, the loss on the 
side of the assailants amounting in killed and wounded to nineteen hun- 
dred and sixteen. In no battle of the Revolution did the British have so 
large a force engaged or meet so terrible a loss. 

The English still outnumbered the French three to one ; and they 
might have easily returned with their artillery and captured the fort. But 
Abercrombie was not the man to do it. He returned to Fort George, at 
the head of the lake, and contented himself with sending a force of three 
thousand men under Colonel Bradstreet against Fort Frontenac. This 
fortress was situated on the present site of Kingston, at the outlet of Lake 
Ontario. Marching through the country of the Indians who were still 
friendly to the English, Bradstreet reached Oswego, embarked his forces, 
crossed the lake and landed within a mile of Frontenac. The place was 
feebly defended, and a siege of t\vo days compelled a capitulation. The 
fortress, so important to the French, was demolished. Forty-six cannon, 
nine vessels of war and a vast quantity of stores Avere the fruits of the 
victory. Except in the waste of life, Bradstreet's success more than coun- 
terbalanced the failure of the English at Ticonderoga. The French w^ere 
everywhere weakened and despairing. In Canada the crops had failed, 
and there was almost a famine. "Peace, peace, no matter with Avhat 
boundaries," was the message which the brave Montcalm sent to the 
French ministry. 

Late in the summer, Forbes, at the head of nine thousand men, ad- 
vanced from Philadelphia against Fort du Quesne. Washington led the 
Virginia provincials, and Armstrong, who had so distinguished himself 
at Kittaning, the Pennsylvanians. The main body moved slowly, clear- 
ing a broad road and bridging the streams. Washington and the pro- 
vincials were impatient. Major Grant, more rash than wise, pressed on 
to within a few miles of Du Quesne. Attempting to lead the French 
and Indians into an ambuscade, he was himself ambuscaded, and lost a 
third of his forces. Slowly the main division approached the fort, Mhich 
was defended by no more than five hundred men. On the 24th of No- 
vember, Washington with the advance Avas within ten miles of Du 
Quesne. During that night the garrison took the alarm, burned the fort- 
ress and floated doAvn the Ohio. On the 25th the victorious army 
marched over the ruined bastions, raised the English flag, and named 



TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 273 

the place Pittsburg. The name of the great British minister was justly 
written over " tlie gateway of the West." 

General Amherst was now promoted to the chief command of the 
American forces. Parliament cheerfully voted twelve million pounds 
sterling to carry on the war. The colonies exerted themselves to the 
utmost. By the beginning of summer, 1759, the British and colonial 
forces numbered nearly fifty thousand men. The whole population of 
Canada was only eighty-two thousand ; and the entire French army 
scarcely exceeded seven thousand. Nothing less than the conquest of all 
Canada would satisfy Pitt's ambition. Three campaigns were planned 
for the year. General Prideaux was to conduct an expedition, against 
Niagara, capture the fortress and descend the lake to jVIontreal. Amherst 
was to lead the main division against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. 
General Wolfe was to proceed up the St. Lawrence and finish the work 
by capturing Quebec. 

By way of Schenectady and Oswego, Prideaux led his forces to 
Niagara. On the 10th of July the place was invested. The French 
general D'Aubry collected from Detroit, Erie, Le Boeuf and Venango a 
body of twelve hundred men, and marched to the relief of the fort. On 
the 15th, by the accidental bursting of a mortar, General Prideaux was 
killed. Sir William Johnson, succeeding to the command, disposed his 
forces so as to intercept the approaching French. On the morning of the 
24th, D'Aubry's army came in sight. A bloody engagement ensued, in 
which the French were completely routed, leaving their unnumbered 
dead scattered for miles through the forest. On the next day Niagara 
capitulated and received an English garrison. The French forces in the 
town, to the number of six hundred, became prisoners of war. Commun- 
ication between Canada and Louisiana was for ever broken. 

At the same time Amherst was conquering on Lake Champlaln. 
With an army of more than eleven thousand men he proceeded against 
Ticonderoga. On the 2 2d of July the English forces were disembarked 
near the landing-place of Abercrombie. The French did not dare to 
stand against them. There was a slight skirmish, and then the trenches 
were deserted. Fort Carillon Avas given up. On the 26th the French 
garrison, having partly destroyed the fortifications, abandoned Ticon- 
deroga and retreated to Crown Point. Five days afterward they de- 
serted this place also, and entrenched themselves on Isle-aux-Noix, in the 
river Sorel. The whole country of Lake Champlain had been recovered 
without a battle. 

It remained for General Wolfe to achieve the final victory. As 
soon as a tardy spring had cleared the St. Lawrence of ice, he began the 



274 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




VICINJTY OF QUEBEC, 1759. 



ascent of the river. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand men, 
assisted by a fleet of forty-fonr vessels under command of Admiral Saun- 
ders. On the 27th of June the armament arrived without accident at 
the Isle of Orleans, four miles below Quebec. The English camp was 

pitched at the upper end of the 
island. Wolfe's vessels gave him 
immediate command of the river, 
and the southern bank was unde- 
fended. On the night of the 29th, 
General Monckton w^as sent with four 
battalions to seize Point Levi. The 
movement was successful, and an 
English battery was planted opposite 
the city. From this position the 
Lower Town was soon reduced to 
ruins, and the Upper Town much 
injured ; but the fortress seemed im- 
pregnable. The French, knowing 
that it would be impossible to storm 
the city from the river side, had drawn their line of entrenchment from the 
northern bank of the St. Lawrence, reaching for five miles from the 
Montmorenci to the St. Charles. Here Montcalm with ten or twelve 
thousand French and Canadians awaited the movements of his antagonist. 
Wolfe was restless and anxious for battle. On the 9th of July he 
crossed the north channel, and encamped with his army on the east bank 
of the Montmorenci. It was determined in a council of war to hazard 
an engagement. The ]\Iontmorenci was fordable when the tide ran out. 
The attack was planned for July 31st, at the hour of low water. Generals 
Townshend and Murray were ordered to ford the stream with their two 
brigades, and at the same time Monckton's regiments of regulars were to 
cross the St. Lawrence from Point Levi and aid in the assault. The 
signal was given, and the grenadiers of INIurray and Townshend dashed 
across the ISIontmorenci ; but the boats of Monckton ran aground, and there 
-was considerable delav. The impatient grenadiers, without w^aiting for 
orders or support, rushed forward against the French entrenchments, and 
were driven back with great loss. Before the regulars could be formed 
in line the battle was decided. Night was approaching ; the tide rising ; 
a storm portended ; and Wolfe, after losing nearly five hundred men, with- 
drew to his camp. 

Disappointment, exposure and fatigue threw the English general 
into a violent fever, and for many days he was confined to his tent. A 



TWO YEARS OF SUCCRSSES. 



275 



council of officers was called, and the indomitable leader proposed a second 
assault on the French lines. But the proposition was overruled, and it 
was decided to ascend 
the St. Lawrence, and 
if possible gain pos- 
session of the Plains 
of Abraham, in the 
rear of the city. The 
camp on the ]\Iont- 
morenci was accord- 
ingly broken up, and 
on the 0th of Septem- 
ber the troops and ar- 
tillery were conveyed 
to Point Levi. Keep- 
ing the French excited 
with appearances of 
activity, Wolfe again 
transferred his army to 
a point several miles 
up the river. He then 
busied himself with a 
careful examination of 
the northern bank, in 
the hope of finding 

some path among the precipitous cliffs by which to gain the plains. On 
the 11th he discovered the place called Wolfe's Cove, and decided that 
here it was possible to make the ascent. INIontcalm, deceived by the 
movements of the fleet, was still in the trenches below the city. 

On the night of the 12th of September everything was in readi- 
ness. The English silently entered their transports and dropped down 
the river to the cove. With great difficulty the soldiers clambered up 
the almost perpendicular precipice ; the feeble Canadian guard on the 
summit was dispersed ; and in the gray dawn of morning AVolfe mar- 
shaled his army for battle. Montcalm was in amazement when he heard 
the news. " They are now on the weak side of this unfortunate town," 
said he ; " and we must crush them before mid-day." With great haste 
the French M^ere brouglit from the trenches and thro^vn between Quebec 
and the advancing English. The battle began with an hour's cannonade ; 
then Montcalm attempted to turn the English flank, but Avas beaten back. 
The Canadians and Indians were routed. Then came the weakened bat- 




GENERAL, JAMES WOLFE. 



276 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

talions of the French ; but they were poorly disciplined ; the ground was 
uneven, and Montcalm's lines advanced brokenly. The English reserved 
their fire until the advancing columns were within forty yards, and then 
discharged volley after volley. The French wavered and were in con- 
fusion. Wolfe, leading the charge, was wounded in the wrist. Again 
he was struck, but pressed on at the head of his grenadiers. Just at the 
moment of victory a third ball pierced his breast, and he sank quivering 
to the earth. " They run, they run !" said the attendant who bent over 
him. " Who run ?" was the feeble response. " The French are flying 
everywhere," replied the officer. " Do they run already ? Then I die 
happy," said the expiring hero; and his spirit passed away amid the 
smoke of battle. Monckton was dangerously Mounded and borne from the 
field. Montcalm, still attempting to rally his broken regiments, was 
struck with a ball, and fell. " Shall I survive ?" said he to his surgeon. 
" But a few hours at most," replied the attendant. " So much the better," 
replied the heroic Frenchman. " I shall not live to witness the surrender 
of Quebec." 

Further defence of the Canadian stronghold was useless. Five 
days after the battle the French authorities surrendered to General Town- 
shend, and an English garrison took possession of the citadel. The year 
1759 closed with the complete triumph of the English arms. In the 
following spring France made a great effort to recover her losses. A severe 
battle was fought a few miles west of Quebec, and the English were 
driven into the city. But reinforcements came, and the French were 
beaten back. On the 8th of September, in the same year, Montreal, the 
last important post of France in the valley of the St. Lawrence, surren- 
dered to General Amherst. Canada had passed under the dominion of 
England. 

In the spring of 1760 the Cherokees of Tennessee rose against the 
English. Fort Loudoun, in the north-eastern extremity of the State, was 
besieged by the Red men, and forced to capitulate. Honorable terms were 
promised to the garrison ; but as soon as the surrender was made, the 
savages fell upon their prisoners and massacred or dragged into captivity 
the whole company. Colonels ISIontgomery and Grant were despatched 
by General Amherst to chastise the Indians. After a vigorous campaign 
the savages were driven into the mountains and compelled to sue for 
peace. 

The conquest of Canada was the overthrow of the French power 
in America. It remained, however, for the English authorities to 
take actual possession of the immense territory bordering on the Great 
Lakes. At the time of the capture of Montreal this vast domain was 



TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 277 

held by feeble fortresses, scattered here and there, and garrisoned by 
detachments of French soldiers. The Marquis of Vaudreuil in sur- 
rendering Montreal had stipulated that all the western forts under the 
control of France should be given up to England. In the fall of 1760 
Major Robert Rogers was accordingly despatched by General Amherst, 
with a company of two hundred provincial rangers, to receive the sur- 
render of the outposts. 

By the last of November, Rogers, having ascended the St. Law- 
rence and passed through Lakes Ontario and Erie, reached Detroit. 
Over this, the most important of the French posts in the West, the 
English flag was raised ; Forts Miami on the southern shore of Lake 
Michigan and Ouatanon on the Wabash were also given up without 
resistance. Rogers then pressed on to take possession of Mackinaw, 
Green Bay and St. Marie, but was turned back by the storms on Lake 
Huron ; and it was not until the following summer that those remote 
fortresses were garrisoned by detachments of British soldiers. 

No sooner were the English in complete possession of the coun- 
try than they began by neglect and ill-treatment to excite the dor- 
mant passions of the Red men. During the progress of the war the 
Indians had become completely subordinated by French influence ; 
and the English were hated with all the ferocity of the savage na- 
ture. It was not long till there were mutterings of an outbreak. 
The tribes could not be made to comprehend tliat Canada had been 
finally taken from their friends, the French. They confidently ex- 
pected the day when the king of France should send new armies and 
expel the detested English. Infatuated with this belief, instigated 
by the French themselves, and stung by many insults real and im- 
aginary, the warriors began their usual atrocities on the frontiers. 
In the summer of 1761, the Senecas conspired with the Wyandots to 
capture Detroit by treachery, and massacre the garrison ; and the plot 
was barely thwarted by Colonel Campbell, the commandant. In the 
following summer another attempt of a similar sort was discovered 
and defeated. It was in this condition of affairs that the celebrated 
Pontiac came forward and organized the most far-reaching and dan- 
gerous conspiracy ever known among the Indian tribes of America. 

Pontiac was chief of the Ottawas, whose principal seat was the 
district between Lakes Erie and Michigan. In the somewhat pro- 
longed interval between the conquest of Canada and the treaty of 
1763, this sagacious warrior, doubting the possibility of a peace be- 
tween the rival nations, conceived the design of uniting all the Indian 
tribes from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi in an overwhelming 



278 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



confederacy, which should upon a given day strike all the English 
forts upon the frontier a deadly blow, and sweep away in a . common 
ruin every English family west of the mountains. The plot was con- 
structed with the White man's skill and the Red man's cunning. The 
7th of May, 1763^ was named as the day of destruction. But when 
the time came the impatient savage tribes were unable to act in per- 
fect concert, and ultimate failure was the consequence, though the 
immediate result was terribly disastrous. 

Pontiac reserved for himself the most difficult task of all — the 
capture of Detroit. But in the hour of impending doom, woman's 
love interposed to save the garrison from butchery. An Indian girl 
of the Ojibwa nation, came to the fort with a pair of moccasins for 




THE REVELATION OF PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 

Major Gladwyn, the commandant, and in parting with him manifeMcd 
unusual agitation and distress. She was seen to linger at the street 
corner, and the sentinel summoned her to return to the major's quar- 
ters. There, after much persuasion and many assurances of protec- 
tion, she yielded to his urgent inquiries into the cause of her grief 
and revealed the plot. When Pontiac's band on the following day 
attempted to gain the fort by treachery, they found every soldier and 
citizen under arms and ready to receive them. Then followed a 
protracted siege, and the savage horde was finally driven off. But 



TWO YEARS OF SUCCESSES. 279 

in all other quarters the attacks were attended with the most fatal 
results. On the IGth of May Fort Sandusky was taken and burned, 
and the garrison butchered by a band of Wyandots. A few days 
later Fort St. Joseph suflered a similar fate at the hands of the Pot- 
tawattamies. On the 29th of the month Fort INIackinaw was taken 
and its defenders nearly all murdered by the Chippeways. One 'out- 
post after another Avas captured and burned, until by the middle of 
summer every English fort in the West, except Niagara, Fort Pitt 
and Detroit, had fallen into the hands of the savages. But in the 
mean time rumors of a treaty between France and England were 
borne to the Red men ; and they, becoming alarmed at their own 
atrocities, began to sue for peace. The confederacy crumbled into 
nothing. Every tribe seemed as anxious to avoid the consequences 
as it had been to take up the hatchet. Pontiac and his band of Ot- 
tawas held out for two years longer; then, abandoned by his follow- 
ers, he fled to the Illinois, among whom he was finally killed in a 
drunken brawl at the Indian town of Cahokia, opposite St. Louis. 

For three years after the fall of Montreal the war between 
France and England lingered on the ocean. The English fleets were 
everywhere victorious. On the 10th of February, 1763, a treaty of 
peace was made at Paris. All the French possessions in North Amer- 
ica eastward of the Mississippi from its source to the river Iberville, 
and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain to the Gulf 
of Mexico, were surrendered to Great Britain. At the same time 
Spain, with whom England had been at war, ceded East and AVest 
Florida to the English Crown. As reciprocal with this provision 
France was obliged to make a cession to Spain of all that vast terri- 
tory west of the Mississippi, known as the Province of Louisiana. 
By the sweeping provisions of this treaty the French king lost his 
entire possessions in the New World. Thus closed the French and 
Indian War, one of the most important in the history of mankind. 
By this conflict it was decided that the decaying institutions of the 
Middle Ages should not prevail in the West ; and that the powerful 
language, laws and liberties of the English race should be planted 
for ever in the vast domains of the New World. 



280 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XXXYI. 

CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. 

BEFORE entering upon the stirring events of the Revolution, it 
will be of interest to glance at the general condition of the 
American Colonies. There were thirteen of them : four in New 
England, — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hamp- 
shire; four Middle Colonies, — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylva- 
nia, Delaware ; five Southern, — Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Georgia. All had grown and prospered. The ele- 
ments of power were everywhere present. A willful, patriotic, and 
vigorous race of democrats had taken possession of the New AYorld. 
Institutions unknown in Europe, peculiar to the West, made neces- 
sary by the condition and surroundings of the colonies, had sprung 
up and were taking deep root in American soil. 

According to estimates made for the year 1760 the population 
of the colonies amounted to a million six hundred and ninety-five 
thousand souls. Of these about three hundred and ten thousand were 
blacks. Massachusetts was at this period perhaps the strongest col- 
ony, having more than two hundred thousand people of European 
ancestry within her borders. True, Virginia was the most populous, 
having an aggregate of two hundred and eighty-four thousand inhab- 
itants, but of these one hundred and sixteen thousand were Africans, 
slaves. Next in strength stood Pennsylvania with a population of 
nearly two hundred thousand; next Connecticut with her hundred 
and thirty thousand people ; next Maryland with a hundred and four 
thousand ; then New York with eighty-five thousand ; New Jersey not 
quite as many; then South Carolina, and so through the feebler col- 
onies to Georgia, in whose borders were less than five thousand in- 
habitants, including the negroes. 

By the middle of the eighteenth century the people of the Amer- 
ican colonies had to a certain extent assumed a national character; but 
they were still strongly marked with the peculiarities which their an- 
cestors had brought from Europe. In New England, especially in Mas- 
sachusetts and Connecticut, the principles and practices of Puritanism 
still held universal sway. On the banks of the Hudson the language, 
manners, and customs of Holland were almost as prevalent as they 



CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. 



281 



had been a hundred years before. By the Delaware the Quakers 
were gathered in such numbers as to control all legislation, and to 
prevent serious innovations upon the simple methods of civil and 
social organization introduced by Penn. On the northern bank of 
the Potomac, the youth- 
ful Frederick, the sixth 
Lord Baltimore, a friv- 
olous and dissolute gov- 
ernor, ruled a people 
who still conformed to 
the order of things es- 
tablished a hundred and 
thirty years previously 
by Sirs George and Ce- 
cil Calvert. In Vir- 
ginia, mother of States 
and statesmen, the peo- 
ple had all their old 
peculiarities ; a some- 
what haughty demean- 
or ; pride of ancestry ; 
fondness for aristocratic 
sports; hospitality; love 
of freedom. The North 
Carolinians were at this 
epoch the same rugged 
and insubordinate race 
of hunters that they had 
always been. The leg- 
islative assembly, in its 
controversies with Gov- 
ernor Dobbs, manifested all the intractable stubbornness which char- 
acterized that body in the days of Seth Sothel. In South Carolina 
there was much prosperity and happiness. But there, too, popular 
liberty had been enlarged by the constant encroachment of the leg- 
islature upon the royal prerogative. The people, mostly of French 
descent, were as hot-blooded and jealous of their rights as their an- 
cestors had been in the times of the first immigrations. Of all the 
American colonies Georgia had at this time least strength and spirit. 
Under the system of government established at the first the common- 
wealth had languished. Not until 1754, when Governor Reynolds 




THE OLD THIRTEEN COLONIES. 



282 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

assumed control of the colony, did the affairs of the people on the 
Savannah begin to flourish. Even afterwards, something of the 
indigence and want of thrift which had marked the followers of 
Oglethorpe still prevailed in Georgia. Nevertheless, after making 
allowance for all these differences of colonial character, a consid- 
erable degree of American unity had been attained; inter-colonial 
relations were well established; and the people were far less antag- 
onistic and sectional than they had been. 

In matters of education New England took the lead. Her 
system of free schools extended everywhere from the Hudson to the 
Penobscot. Every village furnished facilities for the acquirement of 
knowledge. So complete and universal were the means of instruc- 
tion that in the times preceding the Revolution there ivas not to be 
found in all New England an adidt, born in the country, who could 
not read and uirite. Splendid achievement of Puritanism ! In the 
Middle Colonies education was not so general ; but in Pennsylvania 
there was much intelligent activity among the people. Especially in 
Philadelphia did the illustrious Franklin scatter the light of learn- 
ing. South of the Potomac educational facilities were irregular and 
generally designed for the benefit of the wealthier classes. But in 
some localities the means of enlightenment were well provided ; in- 
stitutions of learning sprang up scarcely inferior to those of the East- 
ern provinces, or even of Europe. Nor should the private schools of 
the colonial times be forgotten. Many men — Scottish reformers, Irish 
liberals, and French patriots — despising the bigotry and intolerance 
of their countrymen, fled for refuge to the New World, and there by 
the banks of the Housatonic, the Hudson, the Delaware, the Poto- 
mac, the Ashley, and the Savannah, taught the lore of books and 
the lesson of liberty to the rugged boys of the American wilderness. 
Among the Southern colonies Virginia led the van in matters of edu- 
cation ; while Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia lagged behind. 
Previous to the Revolution nine colleges worthy of the name had 
been established in the colonies. These were Harvard, William and 
Mary, Yale, Princeton, King's (now called Columbia), Brown, Queen's 
(afterwards called Rutgers), Dartmouth, and Hampden and Sydney. 
In 1764 the first medical college was founded, at Philadelphia. 

Of the printing-press, that other great agent and forerunner of 
civilization, the work was already effective. As early as 1704 the 
Boston News-Letter, first of periodicals in the New World, was pub- 
lished in the city of the Puritans ; but fifteen years ela])sed before 
another experiment of the same sort was made. In 1721 the New 
England Courant, a little sheet devoted to free thought and the ex- 



CONDITION OF THE COLONIES. 288 

tlnetion of rascality, was established at Boston by the two Franklins 
— James and Benjamin. In 1740 New York had but one period- 
ical, Virginia one, and South Carolina one ; and at the close of the 
French and Indian War, there were no more than ten newspapers 
published in the colonies. The chief obstacles to such publications 
Avere the absence of great cities and the difficulty of communication 
between distant sections of the country. Boston and Philadelphia 
had each no more than eighteen thousand inhabitants; New York 
but twelve thousand. In all Virginia there was not one important 
town; while as far south as Georgia there was scarcely a considerable 
village. To reach this widely scattered population with periodical 
publications was quite impossible. Books were few, and of little 
value. Some dry volumes of history, theology, and politics were the 
only stock and store. On the latter subject the publications were 
sometimes full of pith and spirit. But notwithstanding this barren- 
ness of books and general poverty of the resources of knowledge, it 
was no unusual thing to find at the foot of the Virginia mountains, 
in the quiet precincts of Philadelphia, by the banks of the Hudson, 
or in the valleys of New England, a man of great and solid learn- 
ing. Such a man was Thomas Jeifcrson ; such were Franklin, and 
Livingston, and the Adamses — men of profound scholarship, bold in 
thought, ready with the pen, skillful in argument; studious, witty, 
and eloquent. 

Nothing impeded the progress of the colonies more than the 
want of thoroughfares and easy communication between the different 
sections. No general system of post-offices or post-roads had as yet 
been established ; and the people were left in comparative or total 
ignorance of passing events. No common sentiments could be ex- 
pressed — no common enthusiasm be kindled in the country — by the 
slow-going mails and packets. The sea-coast towns and cities found 
a readier intercourse by means of small sloops plying the Atlantic ; 
but the inland districts were wholly cut off from such advantages. 
Roads were slowly built from point to point, and lines of travel by 
coach and wagon were gradually established. To the very beginning 
of the Revolution the people lived apart, isolated and dependent upon 
their own resources for life and enjoyment. When in 1766 an ex- 
press wagon made the trip from New York to Philadelphia in two 
days, it was considered a marvel of rapidity. Six years later the first 
stage-coach began to run regularly between Boston and Providence.* 

"•■■ It is remarkable to note how tardily the attention of a people will be turned to the 
building of roads. Thus, for instance, in so old a country as Scotland there were no 
great thoroughfares constructed until after the Scotch Ttebellion of 1745. 



284 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Before the Revolution the Americans were for the most part 
an agricultural people. Within the tide- water line of Virginia the 
lands were divided into estates, and the planters devoted themselves 
almost exclusively to the cultivation of tobacco. Farther inland the 
jjroducts were more various : wheat, maize, potatoes ; upland cotton, 
hemj), and flax. In the Carolinas and Georgia the rice crop was 
most important; after that, indigo, cotton, and some silk; tar, tur- 
pentine, and what the hunter and fisherman gathered from the woods 
and streams. New York, Philadelphia and Boston were then as now 
the great centers of trade; but commerce was carried on in a slow 
and awkward manner, wholly unlike the rushing activity of more 
recent times. Ship-building was one of the most important colonial 
interests. In the year 1738 no less than forty-one sailing vessels, 
with an average burden of a hundred and fifty tons, were built and 
launched at the ship-yards of Boston. New England was the seat of 
whatever manufacturing interest prevailed in the country. But all 
enterprise in this direction was checked and impeded by the British 
Board of Trade, whose stupid and arbitrary restrictions acted as a 
damper on every kind of colonial thrift. No sooner would some 
enterprising company of New England men begin the building of a 
factory than this officious Board would interfere in such a way as to 
make success impossible. So jealous was the English ministry of 
American progress ! If, previous to the Revolution, any colonial 
manufacture was successfully established, it was done against the will 
of Great Britain, and in spite of her mean and churlish opposition. 

Such were the American colonies — such the people whose bud- 
ding nationality was now to be exposed to the blasts of war. These 
people, whose ancestors had been driven into exile by the exactions 
of European governments and the bigotry of ecclesiastical power, had 
become the rightful proprietors of the Ncav World. They had fairly 
won it from savage man and savage nature. They had subdued it 
and built States within it. They owned it by all the claims of actual 
possession ; by toil and trial ; by the ordeal of suflTering ; by peril, 
privation, and hardship ; by the baptism of sorrow and the shedding 
of blood. No wonder that patriotism was the child of such travail 
and discipline ) No wonder that the men who from mountain and 
sky and river, from orchard and valley and forest, from the memO' 
ries of the past, the aspirations of the present and the hopes of the 
future, had drank in the spirit of Liberty until their souls were per- 
vaded with her sublime essence, — were now ready when the iron heel 
of oppression was set upon theii cherished rights, to draw the vindic- 
tive sword even against the venerable monarchy of England I 



PART IV. 

EEYOLUTIO^ AND CONFEDERAriO]^r 

A. I>. 1775— 1TS9. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

CA USES. 

niHE war of American Independence was an event of vast moment, 
-L aifecting the destinies of all nations. The qnestion decided by the 
conflict was this : AVhether the English colonies in America, becoming 
sovereign, should govern themselves or be ruled as dependencies of a 
European monarchy. The decision was rendered in favor of separation 
and independence. The result has been the grandest and most promising 
example of republican government in the history of the world. The 
struggle was long and distressing, though not characterized by great 
violence ; the combatants were of the same race and spoke a common lan- 
guage. It is of the first importance to understand the causes of the Mar. 

The most general cause of the American Revolution was the eight 
OF ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT, claimed by Great Britain and denied by 
the colonies. So long as this claim was asserted by England only as a 
theory, the conflict was postponed ; when the English government b'^gan 
to enforce the principle in practice, the colonies resisted. The question 
began to be openly discussed about the time of the treaty of Aix-la- 
Chapelle, in 1748 ; and from that period until the beginning of hostilities, 
in 1775, each year witnessed a renewal of the agitation. But there were 
also many subordinate causes tending to bring on a conflict. 

First of these was the influence of France, which was constantly 
exerted so as to incite a spirit of resistance in the colonies. The French 
king would never have agreed to the treaty of 1763 — by which Canada 
was ceded to Great Britain — had it not been with the hope of securing 
American independence. It was the theory of France that by giving up 
Canada on the north the English colonies would become so strong as to 
renounce their allegiance to the crown. England feared such a result. 

More than once it was proposed in Parliament to re-cede Canada to France 

(285) 



286 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

in order to check the growtli of the American States. " There, now !" 
said a French statesman when the treaty of 1763 was signed; "we have 
arranged matters for an American rebellion in which England will lose 
her empire in the West." 

Anoti T cause leading to the Revolution was found in the natural 
disposition g.kI inherited character of the colonists. They were, for the 
most part, republicans in politics and dissenters in religion. The people 
of Eno-land were monarchists and Hiai-h Churchmen. The colonists had 
never seen a king. The Atlantic lay between them and the British min- 
istry. Their dealings with the royal officers had been such as to engender 
a dislike for monarchical institutions. The people of America had not 
forjrottcn — could not well for2;et — the circumstances under which their 
ancestors had come to the New World. For six generations the colonists 
had managed their own affairs ; and their methods of government were 
necessarily republican. The experiences of the French and Indian War 
had shown that Americans were fully able to defend themselves and their 
country. 

The growth of iniblic opinion in the colonies tended to independence. 
The more advanced thinkers came to believe that a complete separation 
from England was not only possible, but desirable. As early as 1755, John 
Adams, then a young school-teacher in Connecticut, wrote in his diary : 
" In another century all Europe will not be able to subdue us. The only 
way to keep us from setting up for ourselves is to disunite us." Such 
opinions were at first expressed only in private, then by hints in pam- 
phlets and newspapers, and at last publicly and eveiywhere. The mass 
of the 2>eople, however, were slow to accept an idea which seemed so rad- 
ical and dangerous. Not until the war had actually begun did the ma- 
jority declare for independence. 

Another cause of the conflict with the mother country was found in 
the personal chaixicter of the king. George III., who ascended the Eng- 
lish throne in 1760, was one of the worst monarchs of modern times. 
His notions of government were altogether despotic. He was a stubborn, 
stupid, thick-headed man in whose mind the notion of human rights was 
entirely wanting. It was impossible for him to conceive of a magnan- 
imous project or to appreciate the value of civil liberty. His reign of 
sixty years was as odious as it was long. In the management of the 
British empire he employed only those who were the narrow-minded 
partisans of his own policy. His ministers were, for the most part, men 
as incompetent and illiberal as himself. With such a king and such a 
ministry it was not likely that the descendants of the Pilgrims would get 
on smoothly. 



CAUSES. 287 

The more immediate cause of the Revohition was the passage by 
Parliament of a number of acts destructive of colonial liberty. These acts 
were resisted by the colonies, and the attempt was made by Great Britain 
to enforce them with the bayonet. Tlie subject of this unjust legislation, 
which extended over a period of twelve years just preceding the war, was 
the question of taxation. It is a well-grounded principle of English 
common law that the people, by their representatives in the House of 
Commons, have the right of voting whatever taxes and customs are neces- 
sary for the support of the kingdom. The American colonists claimed 
the full rights of Englishmen. AYith good reason it was urged that the 
general assemblies of colonies held the same relation to the American 
people as did the House of Commons to the people of England. The 
English ministers replied that Parliament, and not the colonial assemblies, 
was the proper body to vote taxes in any and all parts of the British 
empire. But we are not represented in Parliament, was the answer of 
the Americans ; the House of Commons may therefore justly assess taxes 
in England, but not in America. Many of the .towns, boroughs and 
shires in these British isles have no representatives in Parliament, and 
yet the Parliament taxes them, replied the ministers, now driven to 
sophistry. If any of your towns, boroughs and shires are not represented 
in the House of Commons, they ought to be, was the American rejoinder ; 
and there the argument ended. Such were the essential points of the 
controversy. It is now proper to notice the several parliamentary acts 
which the colonies complained of and resisted. 

The first of these was the Importation Act, passed in 1733. 
This statute was itself a kind of supplement to the old Navigation Act 
of 1651. By the terms of the newer law exorbitant duties were laid on 
all the sugar, molasses and rum imported into the colonies. At first the 
payment of these unreasonable customs was evaded by the merchants, 
and then the statute was openly set at naught. In 1750 it was further 
enacted that iron-works should not be erected in America. The man- 
ufacture of steel was specially forbidden ; and the felling of pines, outside 
of enclosures, was interdicted. All of these laws were disregarded and 
denounced by the people of the colonies as being unjust and tyrannical. 
In 1761 a strenuous effort was made by the ministry to enforce the Im- 
portation Act. The colonial courts were authorized to issue to the king's 
officers a kind of search-warrants, called Writs of Assistance. Armed 
with this authority, petty constables might enter any and eveiy place, 
searching for and seizing goods which were suspected of having evaded 
the duty. At Salem and Boston the greatest excitement prevailed. The 
application for the writs was resisted before the courts. James Otis, an 



288 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

able and temperate man, pleaded eloquently for colonial rights, and de- 
nounced the parliamentary acts as unconstitutional. The address was a 
masterly defence of the people, and produced a profound sensation through- 
out the colonies. Already there were hints at resistance by force of arms. 
In 17G3, and again in the following year, the English ministers 
undertook to enforce the law requiring the payment of duties on sugar 
and molasses. The officers of the admiralty were authorized to seize and 
confiscate all vessels engaged in the unlawful trade. Before the passage 
of this act was known at Boston, a great town-meeting was held. Samuel 
Adams was the orator. A poAverful argument was produced sho^A-ing 
conclusively that under the British constitution taxation and representa- 
tion were inseparable. Nevertheless, vessels from the English navy were 
sent to hover around the American harbors. A great number of mer- 
chantmen bearing cargoes of sugar and wine were seized; and the colonial 
trade with the \yest Indies was almost destroyed. 

The year 1764 witnessed the first formal declaration of the purpose 
of Parliament to tax the colonies. Mr. Grenville was now prime minis- 
ter. On the 10th of March a resolution was adopted by the House of 
Commons declaring that it would be proper to charge certain stamp- 
duties on the American colonies. It was announced that a bill embody- 
ing this principle would be prepared by the ministers and presented at 
the next session of Parliament. In the mean time, the news of the pro- 
posed measure was borne to America. Universal excitement and indig- 
nation prevailed in the colonies. Political meetings became the order of 
the day. Orators were in great demand. The newspapers teemed with 
arguments against the proposed enactment. Resolutions were passed by 
the people of almost every town. Formal remonstrances were addressed 
to the king and the two houses of Parliament. Agents Avere appointed 
by the colonies and sent to London in the hope of preventing the passage 
of the law. 

A new turn was now given to the controversy. The French and 
Indian War had just been concluded with a treaty of peace. Great 
Britain had incurred a heavy debt. The ministers began to urge that the 
expenses of the war ought to be borne by the colonies. The Americans 
replied that England ought to defend her colonies, from motives of 
humanity ; that in the prosecution of the war the colonists had aided 
Great Britain as much as Great Britain had aided them ; that the cession 
of Canada had amply remunerated England for her losses ; that it was 
not the payment of money which the colonies dreaded, but the surrender 
of their liberties. It was also added that in case of another war the 
American States would try to fight their own battles. 



CAUSES. 289 

Early in March of 1765, the English Parliament, no longer guided 
by the counsels of Pitt, passed the celebrated Stamp Act. In the House 
of Commons the measure received a majority of five to one. In the 
House of Lords the vote was unanimous. At the time of the passage of 
the act the king was in a fit of insanity, and could not sign the bill. On 
the 22d of the month the royal assent was given by a board of commis- 
sioners acting for the king. " The sun of American liberty has set," 
wrote Benjamin Franklin to a friend at home. "Now we must light the 
lamps of industry and economy." " Be assured," said the friend, in reply, 
" that we shall light torches of another sort." And the answer reflected 
the sentiment of the whole country. 

The provisions of the Stamp Act were briefly these : Every note, 
bond, deed, mortgage, lease, license and fegal document of whatever sort, 
required in the colonies, should, after the 1st day of the following No- 
vember, be executed on paper bearing an English stamp. This stamped 
paper was to be furnished by the British government ; and for each sheet 
the colonists were required to pay a sum varying, according to the nature 
of the document, from three pence to six pounds sterling. Every colonial 
pamphlet, almanac and newspaper was required to be printed on paper 
of the same sort, the value of the stamps in this case ranging from a half- 
penny to four pence ; every advertisement was taxed two shillings. No 
contract should be of any binding force unless written on paper bearing 
the royal stamp. 

The news of the hateful act swept over America like a thunder- 
cloud. The people were at first grief-stricken ; then indignant ; and then 
wrathful. Crowds of excited men surged into the towns, and there were 
some acts of violence. The muffled bells of Philadelphia and Boston 
rung a funeral peal ; and the people said it was the death-knell of liberty. 
In New York a copy of the Stamp Act was carried through the streets 
with a death's-head nailed to it, and a i)lacard bearing this inscription : 
The Folly of England and the Ruin of America. The general 
assemblies were at first slow to move ; there were many loyalists among 
the members ; and the colonial governors held their offices by appointment 
of the king. It was hazardous for a provincial legislator to say that an 
act of the British Parliament was the act of tyrants. But the younger 
representatives, hot-blooded as well as patriotic, did not hesitate to ex- 
press their sentiments. In the Virginia House of Burgesses there was a 
memorable scene. 

Patrick Henry, the youngest member of the House, an uneducated 
mountaineer recently chosen to represent Louisa county, waited for some 
older delegate to lead the burgesses in opposition to Parliament. But the 

19 



290 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



older members hesitated or went home. Offended at this lukewarmness, 
Henry in his passionate way snatched a blank-leaf out of an old law- 
book and hastily drew iij) a series of fiery resolutions, declaring that the 

Virginians were Eng- 
lishmen with English 
rights ; that the people 
of Great Britain had 
the exclusive privilege 
of voting their own 
taxes, and so had the 
Americans ; that the 
colonists were not 
bound to yield obedi- 
ence to any law im- 
posing taxation on 
them; and that who- 
ever said the contrary 
was an enemy to the 
country. The resolu- 
tions were at once laid 
before the house. 

A violent de- 
bate ensued, in which 
the patriots had the 
best of the argument. 
It was a moment of 
intense interest. Two 
future Presidents of the United States were in the audience; Washington 
occupied his seat as a delegate, and Thomas Jefferson, a young collegian, 
stood just outside of the railing. The eloquent and audacious Henry 
bore down all opposition. " Tarquin and Caesar had each his Brutus," 
said the indignant orator ; " Charles I. had his Cromwell, and George 
III. — " " Treason !" shouted the speaker. " Treason ! treason !" exclaimed 
the terrified loyalists, springing to their feet. " — And George III. may 
profit by their example," continued Henry ; and then added as he took 
his seat, " If that be treason, make the most of it !" The resolutions were 
put to the house and carried ; but the majorities on some of the votes were 
small, and the next day, when Henry was absent, the most violent par- 
agraph was reconsidered and expunged : some of the members were 
greatly frightened at their own audacjty. But the resolutions in their 
entire form had gone before the country as the formal expression of the 




PATRICK HENRY. 



CAUSES. 291 

oldest American commonwealth, and the effect on the other colonies was 
like the shock of a battery. 

Similar resolutions were adopted by the assemblies of New York 
and Massachusetts — in the latter State before the action of Virginia was 
known. At Boston, James Otis successfully agitated the question of an 
American Congress. It was proposed that each colony, acting without 
leave of the king, should appoint delegates, who should meet in the fol- 
lowing autumn and discuss the affairs of the nation. The proposition Avas 
favorably received ; nine of the colonies appointed delegates ; and on the 
7th of October the First Colonial Congress assembled at Kew York. 
There were twenty-eight representatives : Timothy Ruggles of Massachu- 
setts was chosen president. After much discussion A Declaration of 
KiGHTS M'as adopted setting forth in unmistakable terms that the Amer- 
ican colonists, as Englishmen, could not and would not consent to be 
taxed but by their own representatives. Memorials were also prepared 
and addressed to the two houses of Parliament. A manly petition, pro- 
fessing loyalty and praying for a more just and humane policy toward 
his American subjects, was directed to the king. 

The 1st of November came. On that day the Stamp Act was to 
take effect. During the summer great quantities of the stam^jed paper 
had been prepared and sent to America. Ten boxes of it were seized by 
the people of New York and openly destroyed. In Connecticut, the 
stamp-officer was threatened with hanging. In Boston, houses were de- 
stroyed and the stamps given to the winds and flames. Whole cargoes 
of the obnoxious paper were reshipped to England ; and every stamp- 
ofiicer in America was obliged to resign or leave the country. By the 
1st of November there were scarcely stamps enough remaining to furnish 
after times with specimens. The day was kept as a day of mourning. 
The stores were closed; flags were hung at half mast; the bells were 
tolled ; effigies of the authors and abettors of the Stamp Act were borne 
about in mockery, and then burned. The people of New Hampshire 
formed a funeral procession and buried a coffin bearing the inscrijjtion of 
Liberty. A cartoon was circulated hinting at union as the remedy for 
existing evils. The picture represented a snake broken into sections. 
Each joint was labeled with the initials of a colony ; the head was marked 
" N. E." for New England ; and the title was Join or Die ! 

At first, legal business was almost entirely suspended. The court- 
houses were shut up. Society was at a standstill ; not even a marriage 
license could be legally issued. By and by, the people breathed more 
freely ; the offices were opened, and business went on as before ; but was 
not transacted with stamped paper. It Mas at this juncture that the 



292 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

patriotic society known as the Sons of Liberty was organized. The 
members were pledged to oppose British tyranny to the utmost, and to 
defend with their lives the freedom of the colonies. Equally important 
was the action of the colonial merchants. The importers of New York, 
Boston and Philadelphia entered into a solemn compact to purchase no 
more goods of Great Britain until the Stamp Act should be repealed. 
And the people, applauding the action of their merchants, cheerfully de- 
nied themselves of all imported luxuries. 

Great was the wrath of the British government when the ncM's of 
these proceedings was borne across the ocean. But a large party of Eng- 
lish tradesmen and manufacturers sided with the colonists. Better still, 
some of the most eminent statesmen espoused the cause of America. Even 
Lord Camden in the House of Lords spoke favorably of colonial rights. 
Before the House of Commons Mr. Pitt delivered a powerful address. 
" You have," said he, " no right to tax America. I rejoice that America 
has resisted. Three millions of our fellow-subjects so lost to every sense 
of virtue as tamely to give up their liberties would be fit instruments to 
make slaves of the rest." The new Whig prime minister, the marquis 
of Pockingham, was also a friend of the colonies, and looked with dis- 
favor on the legislation of his predecessor. On the 18th of March, 1766, 
the Stamp Act was formally repealed. As a kind of balm to soothe the 
wounded feelings of the Tories — as the adherents of Grenville were now 
called — a supplemental resolution was added to the repeal declaring that 
Parliament had the right to bind the colonies in all cases whatsoever. 

The joy both in England and America Avas unbounded. The 
vessels in the river Thames were decked with flags, and the colonial 
orators spoke to enthusiastic crowds gathered around bonfires. There was 
a great calm in all the country ; but it was only the lull before the com- 
ing of a greater storm. A few months after the repeal of the Stamp Act 
the ministry of Rockingham was dissolved and a new cabinet formed 
under the leadershij) of Pitt, who was now made earl of Chatham. Un- 
fortunately, Iwwever, the prime minister was for a long time confined by 
sickness to his home in the country. During his absence, Mr. ToAvns- 
hend, chancellor of the exchequer, in a moment of unparalleled folly, 
brought forward a new scheme for taxing America. On the 29th of June, 
1767, an act was passed imposing a duty on all the glass, paper, painters' 
colors and tea which should thereafter be imported into the colonies. 
At the same time a resolution was adopted suspending the powers of the 
general assembly of New York until that body should vote certain sup- 
plies for the royal troops stationed in the province. A more rash and 
disastrous piece of legislation never was enacted. 



CAUSES. 293 

All the smothered resentment of the colonies burst out anew. 
Another agreement not to purchase British goods was immediately en- 
tered into by the American merchants. The newspapers were filled with 
bitter denunciations of Parliament. Early in 1768 the assembly of Mas- 
sachusetts adopted a circular calling upon the other colonies for assistance 
in the effort to obtain redress of grievances. The ministers were enraged 
and required the assembly in the king's name to rescind their action, and 
to express regret for that " rash and hasty proceeding." Instead of that, 
the sturdy legislature reaffirmed the resolution by a nearly unanimous 
vote. Thereupon Governor Bernard dissolved the assembly ; but the 
members would not disperse until they had prepared a list of charges 
against the governor and requested the king to remove him. 

In the month of June fuel was added to the flame. A sloop, 
charged with attempting to evade the payment of duty, was seized by the 
custom-house officers. The people rose in a mob ; attacked the houses 
of the officers, and obliged the occupants to seek shelter in Castle William, 
at the entrance of the harbor. The governor now appealed to the min- 
isters for help ; and General Gage, commander-in-chief of the British 
forces in America, was ordered to bring from Halifax a regiment of reg- 
ulars and overawe the people. On the 1st of October the troops, seven 
hundred strong, marched with fixed bayonets into the capital of Mas- 
sachusetts. The people were maddened by this military invasion of their 
city. When the governor required the selectmen of Boston to provide 
quarters for the soldiers, he was met with an absolute refusal ; and the 
troops were quartered in the state-house. 

In February of 1769, Parliament advanced another step toward 
war. The people of ISIassachusetts were declared rebels, and the governor 
was directed to arrest those deemed guilty of treason and send them to 
England for trial. The general assembly met this additional outrage 
with defiant resolutions. Scenes almost as violent as these were at the 
same time enacted in Virginia and North Carolina. In the latter State 
a popular insurrection was suppressed by Governor Tryon ; the insur- 
gents, escaping across the mountains, obtained lands of the Cherokees, and 
became the founders of Tennessee, 

Early in 1770 a serious affray occurred in New York. The 
soldiers wantonly cut down a liberty pole Avhich had stood for several 
years in the park. A conflict ensued, in which the people came out best ; 
another pole was erected in the northern part of the city. On the 5th 
of March a more serious difficulty occurred in Boston. An altercation 
had taken place between a party of citizens and the soldiers. A crowd 
gathered, surrounded Captain Preston's company of the city guard, hooted 



294 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

at them, and dared them to fire. At length the exasperated soldiers dis- 
charged a volley, killing three of the citizens and wounding several others. 
This outrage, known as the Boston Massacre, created a profound sensa- 
tion. The city was ablaze with excitement. Several thousand men 
assembled under arms. Governor Hutchinson came out, promising that 
justice should be done and trying to appease the multitude. The brave 
Samuel Adams spoke for the people. An immediate withdrawal of the 
troops from the city was demanded, and the governor Mas obliged to 
yield. Captain Preston and his company were arrested and tried for 
murder. The prosecution was conducted with great spirit, and two of 
the offenders were convicted of manslaughter. 

On the very day of the Boston massacre. Lord North, who had 
become prime minister, secured the passage by Parliament of an act re- 
pealing all the duties on American imports except that on tea. The 
exception was made only to show that the right of taxing the colonies 
was not relinquished. The merchants of New York and Boston at once 
relaxed their non-importation agreement except so far as it related to tea ; 
to that extent the compact was retained ; and the people voluntarily 
pledged themselves to use no more tea until the duty should be uncon- 
ditionally repealed. The antagonism toward the mother country was 
abating somewhat, when in 1772 an actM'as passed ])y Parliament requir- 
ing that the salaries of the governor and judges of Massachusetts should 
be paid out of the colonial revenues without consent of the assembly. 
That body retaliated by a declaration that the parliamentary statute was 
a violation of the chartered rights of the ])cople, and therefore void. 
About the same time the Gaspee, a royal schooner which had been annoy- 
ing the people of Providence, was boarded by a company of patriots and 
burned. 

In 1773 the ministers attempted to enforce the tea-tax by a strat- 
agem. Owing to the duty, the price of tea in the American market had 
been doubled. But there was no demand for the article ; for the people 
would not buy. As a consequence the warehouses of Great Britain were 
stored with vast quantities of tea, awaiting shipment to America. Par- 
liament now removed the export duty which had hitherto been charged 
on tea shipped from England. The price was by so much lowered ; and 
the ministers persuaded themselves that, when the cheaper tea was offered 
in America, the silly colonists would pay their own import duty without 
suspicion or complaint. 

To carry out this scheme English ships were loaded with tea for 
the American market. Some of the vessels reached Charleston ; the tea 
was landed, but the people forbade its sale. The chests were stored in 



CAUSES. 



291 



mouldy cellars, and the contents ruined. At New York and Philadelphia 
the ports were closed and the ships forbidden to enter. At Boston the 
vessels entered the harbor. The tea had been consigned to Governor Hut- 
chinson and his friends ; and special precautions were taken to prevent a 
failure of the enterprise. But the authorities stubbornly stood their 
ground, and would not permit the tea to be landed. On the 16th of De- 
cember the dispute was settled in a memorable manner. There was a great 
town-meeting at which seven thousand people were assembled. Adams 
and Quincy spoke to 
the multitudes. Eve- 
ning came on, and the 
meeting was about to 
adjourn, when a war- 
whoop was heard, and 
about fifty men dis- 
guised as Indians pass- 
ed the door of the Old 
South Church. The 
crowd followed to 
Griffin's wharf, where 
the three tea-ships 
were at anchor. Then 
everything became 
quiet. The disguised 
men quickly boarded 
the vessels, broke open 
the three hundred and 
forty chests of tea that 
composed the cargoes, 
and poured the con- 
tents into the sea. 
Such was THE Boston Tea-Pa rty. 

Parliament made haste to find revenge. On the last day of :March, 
1774, THE Boston Port Bill was passed. It was enacted that no 
kind of merchandise should any longer be landed or shipped at the 
wharves of Boston. The custom-house was removed to Salem, but the 
people of that town refused the benefits which were proffered by the hand 
of tyranny. The inhabitants of Marblehead tendered the free use of 
their warehouses to the merchants of Boston. The assembly stood stoutly 
by the cause of the people. When the news of the passage of the Port 
Bill reached Virginia, the burgesses at once entered a protest on the 




SAMUEL ADAMS. 



296 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

journals of the house. When Governor Dunmore ordered the members 
to their homes, they met in another place, and passed a recommendation 
for a general congress of the colonies. On the 20th of May the vener- 
ated charter of INIassachusetts was annulled by act of Parliament. The 
people were declared rebels ; and the governor was ordered to send 
abroad for trial all persons who should resist the royal officers. The 
colonial assembly made answer by adopting a resolution that the powers 
of language were not sufficient to express the impolicy, injustice, in- 
humanity and cruelty of the acts of Parliament. 

In September the Second Colonial Congress assembled at 
Philadelphia. Eleven colonics were represented. It was unanimously 
agreed to sustain Massachusetts in her conflict with a wicked ministry. 
One address was sent to the king ; another to the English nation ; and 
another to the people of Canada. Before adjournment a resolution was 
adopted recommending the suspension of all commercial intercourse with 
Great Britain until the wrongs of the colonies should be redressed. Par- 
liament immediately retaliated by ordering General Gage, who had been 
recently appointed governor of ]\Iassachusetts, to reduce the colonists by 
force. A fleet and an army of ten thousand soldiers were sent to America 
to aid in the work of subjugation. 

In accordance Avith the governor's orders, Boston Neck was seized 
and fortified. The military stores in the arsenals at Cambridge and 
Charlestown were conveyed to Boston; and the general assembly was 
ordered to disband. Instead of doing so, the members resolved them- 
selves into a provincial congress, and voted to equip an army of twelve 
thousand men for the defence of the colony. There was no longer any 
hope of a peaceable adjustment. The mighty arm of Great Britain was 
stretched out to smite and crush the sons of the Pilgrims. The colonists 
were few and feeble ; but they were men of iron wills who had made up 
their minds to die for liberty. It was now the early spring of 1775, and 
the dav of battle was at hand. 



THE BEGINNING. 297 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE BEGINNING. 

AS soon as the intentions of General Gage were manifest, the people 
of Boston, concealing their ammunition in cart-loads of rubbish, 
conveyed it to Concord, sixteen miles away. Gage detected the move- 
ment, and on the night of the 18th of April despatched a regiment of 
eight hundred men to destroy the stores. Another purpose of the exjje- 
dition was to capture John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were sup- 
posed to be hidden at Lexington or Concord. The fact was that they 
were not hidden anywhere, but were abroad encouraging the people. 
The plan of the British general was made with great secrecy ; but the 
patriots were on the alert, and discovered the movement. 

About midnight the regiment, under command of Colonel Smith 
arid Major Pitcairn, set out for Concord. The people of Boston, Charles- 
town and Cambridge were roused by the ringing of bells and the firing 
of cannons. Two hours before, the vigilant Joseph Warren had de- 
spatched William Dawes and Paul Revere to ride with all speed to Lex- 
ington and to spread the alarm through the country. Against two o'clock 
in the morning the minute-men were under arms ; and a company of a 
hundred and thirty had assembled on the common at Lexington. The 
patriots loaded their guns and stood ready ; but no enemy appeared, and 
it Avas agreed to separate until the drum-beat should announce the hour 
of danger. At five o'clock the British van, under command of Pitcairn, 
came in sight. The provincials to the number of seventy reassembled ; 
Captain Parker was their leader. Pitcairn rode up and exclaimed : 
" Disperse, ye villains ! Throw down your arms, ye rebels, and dis- 
perse !" The minute-men stood still ; Pitcairn discharged his pistol at 
them, and with a loud voice cried, " Fire !" The first volley of the 
Revolution whistled through the air, and sixteen of the patriots, nearly a 
fourth of the whole number, fell dead or wounded. The rest fired a few 
random shots, and then dispersed. 

The British pressed on to Concord ; but the inhabitants had re- 
moved the greater part of the stores to a place of safety, and there was 
but little destruction. Two cannons were spiked, some artillery carriages 



298 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

burned, and a small quantity of ammunition thrown into a mill-pond. 
While the British were ransacking the town the minute-men began to 
assemble from all quarters. Attempting to enter the village, the patriots 
encountered a company of soldiers who were guarding the North Bridge, 
over Concord Biver. Here the Americans, for the first time, fired under 
orders of their officers, and here two British soldiers were killed. The 
bridge was taken by the provincials, and the enemy began a retreat — first 
into the town, and then through the town on the road to Lexington. 
This was the signal for the minute-men to attack the foe from every side. 
For six miles the battle was kept up along the road. Hidden behind 
rocks, trees, fences and barns, the patriots poured a constant fire upon the 
thinned ranks of the retreating enemy. Kothing but good discipline and 
reinforcements which, under command of Lord Percy, met the fugitives 
just below Lexington, saved the British from total rout and destruction. 
The fight continued to the precincts of Charlestown, the militia becoming 
more and more audacious in their charges. At one time it seemed that 
the whole British force would be obliged to surrender. Such a result 
was prevented only by the fear that the fleet would burn the city. The 
American loss in this the first battle of the war was forty-nine killed, 
thirty-four wounded and five missing ; that of the enemy was Uvo hundred 
and seventy-three — a greater loss than the English army sustained on the 
Plains of Abraham. 

The battle of Lexington fired the country. Within a few days an 
army of twenty thousand men had gathered about Boston. A line of 
entrenchments encompassing the city was drawn from Roxbury to Chel- 
sea. To drive Gage and the British into the sea was the common talk 
in that tumultuous camp. And the number constantly increased. John 
Stark came down at the head of the New Hampshire militia. Israel 
Putnam, with a leather waistcoat on, was helping some men to build a 
stone wall on his farm when the news from Lexington came flying. 
Hurrying to the nearest town, he found the militia already mustered. 
Bidding the men follow as soon as possible, he mounted a horse and rode 
to Cambridge, a distance of a hundred miles, in eighteen hours. Rhode 
Island sent her quota under the brave Nathaniel Greene. Benedict 
Arnold came with the provincials of New Haven. Ethan Allen, of 
Vermont, made war in the other direction. 

This daring and eccentric man was chosen colonel by a company of 
two hundred and seventy patriots who had assembled at Bennington. 
Before the battle of Lexington, the legislature of Connecticut had pri- 
vately voted a thousand dollars to encourage an expedition against Ticon- 
deroga. To capture this important fortress, with its vast magazine of 



THE BEGINNING. 299 

stores was the object of Allen and the audacious mountaineers of whom he 
was tlie leader. Benedict Arnold left Cambridge, and joined the expe- 
dition as a private. On the evening of the 9th of May, the force, whose 
movements had not been discovered, reached the eastern shore of Lake 
Champlain, opposite Ticonderoga. 

Only a few boats could be procured ; and when day broke on the 
following morning, but eighty-three men had succeeded in crossing. With 
this mere handful — for the rest could not be waited for — Allen, with 
Arnold by his side, made a dash, and gained the gateway of the fort. 
The sentinel was driven in, closely followed by the mountaineers, who set 
up such a shout as few garrisons had ever heard. Allen's men hastily 
faced the barracks and stood ready to fire ; he himself rushed to the 
quarters of Delaplace, the commandant, and shouted for the incumbent to 
get up. The startled official thrust out his head. " Surrender this fort 
instantly," said Allen. " By what authority ?" inquired the astounded 
officer. " In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Con- 
gress !" * said Allen, flourishing his sword. Delaplace had no alternative. 
The garrison, numbering forty-eight, were made prisoners and sent to 
Connecticut. A fortress which had cost Great Britain eight million 
pounds sterling was captured in ten minutes by a company of undiscip- 
lined provincials. By this daring exploit a hundred and twenty cannon 
and vast quantities of military stores fell into the hands of the Americans. 
Two days afterward Crown Point was also taken without the loss of life. 

On the 25th of May, Generals Howe, Clinton and Burgoyne arrived 
at Boston. They brought with them powerful reinforcements from Eng- 
land and Ireland ; the British army was augmented to more than ten thou- 
sand men. Gage, becoming arrogant, issued a proclamation, branding 
those in arms as rebels and traitors, offering pardon to all who would 
submit, but excepting Samuel Adams and John Hancock ; these two were 
to suffer the penalty of treason — provided Gage could inflict it. It was now 
rumored — and the rumor was well founded — that the British were about 
to sally out of Boston with the purpose of burning the neighboring towns 
and devastating the country. The Americans determined to anticipate 
this movement by seizing and fortifying Bunker Hill, a height which 
commanded the peninsula of Charlestown. 

On the night of the 16th of June the brave Colonel Prescott, 
grandfather of Prescott the historian, was sent with a thousand men to 
occupy and entrench the hill. Marching by way of Charlestown Neck, 

* This saying ■will appear especially amusing when it is remembered that the "Conti- 
nental Congress" referred to did not convene until about .sir Aoiws after Tkoiuhroya was 
capivired. 



300 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 








the provincials came about eleven o'clock to the eminence which they 
were instructed to fortify. Prescott and his engineer Gridley, not liking 
the position of Bunker Hill, proceeded down the peninsula seven hundred 
yards to another height, afterward called Breed's Hill. The latter was 
within easy cannon range of Boston. On this summit a redoubt eight 
rods square was planned by the engineer ; and there, from midnight to 
day-dawn, the men worked in silence. The British ships in the harbor 
were so near that the Americans could hear the sentinels on deck repeat- 
ing the night call, " All is well." The works were not yet completed 
when morning revealed the new-made redoubt to the astonished British 
of Boston. 

" We must carry those works immediately," said General Gage to 
his officers. For he saw that Prescott's cannon now commanded tlie city. 

As soon as it was light, the ships in 
the harbor began to cannonade the 
American position. The British bat- 
teries on Copp's Hill also opened a 
heavy fire. But little damage Avas 
done in this way ; and the Americans 
returned only an occasional shot ; for 
their supply of ammunition was very 
limited. Just after noon a British 
column of about three thousand vet- 
erans, commanded by Generals HoAve 
and Pigot, landed at Morton's Point. 
The plan was to carry Breed's PI ill 
by assault. The Americans num- 
bered in all about fifteen hundred. They were worn out witli toil and 
hunger ; but there was no quailing in the presence of the enemy. During 
the cannonade Prescott climbed out of the defences and walked leisurely 
around the parapet in full view of the British officers. Generals Putnam 
and Warren volunteered as privates, and entered the trenches. At three 
o'clock in the afternoon Howe ordered his column forward. At the same 
time every gun in the fleet and batteries was turned upon the American 
position. Charlestown was wantonly set on fire and four hundred build- 
ings burned. Thousands of eager spectators climbed to the house-tops 
in Boston and waited to behold the shock of battle. On came the British 
in a stately and imposing column. 

The Americans reserved their fire until the advancing line was 
within a hundred and fifty feet. " Fire !" cried Prescott ; and instantly 
from breastwork and redoubt every gun was discharged. The front rank 




SCENE OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER 
HILL, 1775. 



THE BEGINNING. 301 

of the British melted away ; there was a recoil, and fifteen minutes after- 
ward a precipitate retreat. Beyond musket range Howe rallied his men 
and led them to the second charge. Again the American fire was with- 
held until the enemy was but a few rods distant. Then with steady aim 
volley after volley was poured upon the charging column until it was 
broken and a second time driven into flight. 

The British officers were now desperate. The vessels of the fleet 
changed position until the guns were brought to bear upon the inside of 
the American works. For the third time the assaulting column was put 
in motion. The British soldiers came on with fixed bayonets up the 
hillside strewn with the dead and dying. The Americans had but three 
or four rounds of ammunition remaining. These were expended on the 
advancing enemy. Then there was a lull. The British clambered over 
the ramparts. The provincials clubbed their guns and hurled stones at 
the assailants. It was in vain ; the heroic defenders of liberty were driven 
out of their trenches at the point of the bayonet. Prcscott lived through 
the battle, but the brave Warren gave his life for freedom. The loss of 
the British in this terrible engagement was a thousand and fifty-four in 
killed and wounded. The Americans lost a hundred and fifteen killed, 
three hundred and five wounded, and thirty-two prisoners. Prescott and 
Putnam conducted the retreat by way of Charlestown Neck to Prospect 
Hill, where a new line of entrenchments was formed which still com- 
manded the entrance to Boston. 

The battle of Bunker Hill rather inspired than discouraged the 
colonists. It was seen that the British soldiers were not invincible. To 
capture a few more hills would cost General Gage his whole army. The 
enthusiasm of war spread throughout the country. The news was borne 
rapidly to the South, and a spirit of determined opposition was every- 
where aroused. The people began to speak of the United Colonies 
OF America. At Charlotte, North Carolina, the citizens ran together in 
a hasty convention, and startled the country by making a declaration of 
independence. The British ministers had little dreamed of raising such 
a storm. 

On the day of the capture of Ticonderoga the colonial Congress, 
which had adjourned in the previous autumn, reassembled at Philadelphia. 
Washington was there, and John Adams and Samuel Adams, Franklin 
and Patrick Henry ; Jefferson came soon afterward. A last appeal was 
addressed to the king of England ; and the infatuated monarch was plainly 
told that the colonists had chosen war in preference to voluntary slavery. 
Early in the session John Adams made a powerful address, in the course 
of which he sketched the condition and wants of the country and of the 



302 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

army. The necessity of appointing a commander-in-chief and the qual- 
ities requisite in that high officer were dwelt upon ; and then the speaker 
concluded by putting in nomination George Washington of Virginia. As 
soon as his name was mentioned, Washington arose and withdrew from 
the hall. For a moment he was overpowered with a sense of the respon- 
sibility which was about to be put upon him, and to his friend Patrick 
Henry he said with tears in his eyes : " I fear that this day will mark the 
downfall of my reputation." On the 15th of June the nomination was 
unanimously confirmed by Congress ; and the man who had saved the 
wreck of Braddock's army was called to build a nation. 

George Washington, descended from the distinguished family 
of the Wessyngtons in England, was born in AVestmoreland county, 
Virginia, on the 11th of February (Old Style), 1732. At the age of 
eleven he was left, by the death of his father, to the sole care of a talented 
and affectionate mother. His education was limited to the common 
branches of learning, extending only to geometry and trigonometry. Sur- 
veying was his favorite study. In his boyhood he was passionately fond 
of athletic sports and military exercises. As he grew to manhood he was 
marked above all his companions for the dignity of his manners, the 
soundness of his judgment and the excellence of his character. At the 
age of sixteen he was sent by his uncle to survey a tract of land on the 
South Potomac, and for three years his life was in the wilderness. On 
reaching his majority he was already more spoken of than any other 
young man in the colony. The important duties which he performed in 
the service of the Ohio Comjjany, the beginning of his military career 
and his noted campaign with Braddock have already been narrated. After 
the French and Indian War he was a member of the Virginia House of 
Burgesses ; was then chosen a member of the Continental Congress ; and 
was now called by that body to control the destinies of the unorganized 
mass of men composing the American army. AYith great dignity he 
accepted the appointment, refused all compensation beyond his actual 
expenses, set out with an escort by way of New York, and reached Cam- 
bridge fifteen days after the battle of Bunker Hill. 

Washington's duties and responsibilities were overwhelming. Con- 
gress had voted to raise and equip twenty thousand men, but the means 
of doing so were not furnished. The colonies had not yet broken their 
allegiance to the British Crown. For six months Congress stood waiting 
for the king's answer to its address. The country was sound and patri- 
otic; but its methods of action were irregular and uncertain. Washington 
had a force of fourteen thousand five hundred men, but they were undis- 
ciplined and insubordinate. The revenues and supplies of war were 



THE BEGINNING. 303 

almost wholly wanting. At the time of the battle of Bunker Hill the whole 
army had but twenty -seven half barrels of powder. The work of organ- 
ization was at once begun. Four major-generals, one adjutant and eight 
brigadiers were appointed. The army was arranged in three divisions. 
The right wing, under General Ward, held Roxbury ; the left, commanded 
by General Charles Lee, rested at Prospect Hill, near Charlestown Neck ; 
the centre, under the immediate direction of the commander-in-chief, lay 
at Cambridge. Boston was regularly invested, and the siege was pressed 
with constantly increasing vigor. 

During the summer and autumn of 1775, the king's authority was 
overthrown in all the colonies. The royal governors either espoused the 
cause of the people, were compelled to resign or were driven oif in insur- 
rections. Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia, seized the public powder. 
Patrick Henry led the people, and demanded restitution. The governor 
was overaAved, and paid the value of the powder. Fearing further aggres- 
sion, he Avent on board a man-of-war, proclaimed freedom to the slaves, 
raised a force of loyalists, met the provincials at the village of Great 
Bridge near Norfolk, and was defeated. Obliged to retire from the coun- 
try, he gratified his vindictive disposition by burning Norfolk. 

The American colonies looked to Canada for sympathy and aid. 
It was believed that the Canadians would make common cause against 
Great Britain. In order to encourage such a movement and to secure 
possession of the Canadian government, an expedition was planned against 
the towns on the St. Lawrence. Generals Schuyler and Montgomery 
were placed in command of a division which was to proceed by way of 
Lake Champlain and the river Sorel to St. John and Montreal. The 
former fort was reached on the 10th of September, but the Americans, 
finding the place too strong to be carried by assault, fell back twelve miles 
to Isle-aux-Noix in the Sorel. This place General Schuyler fortified, 
and then returned to Ticonderoga for reinforcements. Sickness detained 
him there, and the whole command devolved on Montgomery. This 
gallant officer returned to St. John and captured the fortress. Fort 
Chambly, ten miles farther north, Avas also taken. Montreal was next 
invested, and on the 13th of November obliged to capitulate. 

Leaving garrisons in the conquered towns, Montgomery proceeded 
wdth his regiment, now reduced to three hundred men, against Quebec. 
This stronghold was already threatened from another quarter. Late in 
the autumn, Colonel Benedict Arnold set out with a thousand men from 
Cambridge, passed up the Kennebec and urged his way through the wil- 
derness to the Chaudiere, intending to descend that stream to Point Levi. 
The march was one of untold hardship and suffering. As winter came 



304 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

on the men were brought to the verge of starvation. The daring leader 
pressed on in the hope of gathering supplies from some unguarded French 
village. Before his return the famishing soldiers had killed and devoured 
every dog that could be found. Then the brave fellows gnawed the roots 
of trees and ate their moose-skin moccasins until Arnold's return, when 
the whole force proceeded to Quebec. ]\Iorgan, Greene and Meigs, all 
three noted leaders of the Revolution, and Aaron Burr, one day to be- 
come Vice-President of the United States, were in this company of suf- 
fering lieroes. 

Arnold and his men, climbing to the Plains of Abraham, as Wolfe 
had done sixteen years previously, offered battle. But the English gar- 
rison of Quebec remained in their fortifications awaiting an assault which 
the Americans were not strong enough to make. Conscious of his weak- 
ness, Arnold withdrew his men to Point aux Trembles, twenty miles up 
the river, and there awaited the approach of Montgomery. When the 
latter arrived, he assumed command of the whole force, which did not 
exceed nine hundred effective men. Quebec was defended by greatly 
superior numbers, well fortified and warmly quartered. For three weeks, 
with his handful of men, Montgomery besieged the town, and then, rely- 
ing only on the courageous valor of his men, determined to stake every- 
thing on an assault. 

It was the last day of December, 1775. Before daybreak the little 
army was divided into four columns. The first division, under Mont- 
gomery, was to pass down the St. Lawrence and attack the Lower Town 
in the neighborhood of the citadel. The second column, led by Arnold, 
was to sweep around the city to the north, attack by way of the St. 
Charles, and join Montgomery in order to storm the Prescott Gate. The 
other two divisions were to remain in the rear of the Upper Town, making 
feigned attacks to draw the attention of the garrison. Montgomery's 
column reached the point from which the charge was to begin. A battery- 
lay just before, and it was thought that the gunners had not discovered 
the assailants. " Men of New York," said the brave Montgomery, " you 
will not fear to follow where your general leads ! Forward !" There 
were masses of ice and clouds of blinding snow, and broken ground and 
the cold gray light of morning. As the Americans were rushing forward, 
all of a sudden the battery burst forth with a storm of grape-shot. At 
the first discharge Montgomery and both of his aids fell dead. The 
column was shattered. The men were heartbroken at the death of their 
beloved general. They staggered a moment, then fell back, and returned 
to Wolfe's Cove, above the city. 

Arnold, ignorant of what had happened, fought his w-ay into the 



THE WORK OF 76. 305 

Lower Town on the north. "While leading the charge he was severely 
wounded and borne to the rear. Captain Morgan, who succeeded him, 
led his brave band farther and farther along the narrow and dangerous 
streets until he was overwhelmed and compelled to surrender. Arnold 
retired with his broken remnant to a point three miles above the city. 
Reinforcements soon began to arrive ; but the smallpox broke out in tlie 
camp, and active operations could not be resumed. As soon as the ice dis- 
appeared from the St. Lawrence, Quebec was strengthened by the arrival 
of fresh troops from England. Governor Carleton now began offensive 
movements ; the Americans fell back from post to post, until, by the mid- 
dle of the following June, Canada was entirely evacuated. 

The worst calamity of the whole campaign was the death of Gen- 
eral Richard Montgomery. He was one of the noblest of the many noble 
men who gave their lives in the cause of American liberty. Born of an 
illustrious Irish family, he became a soldier in his boyhood. He had 
shared the toils and the triumph of Wolfe. To the enthusiasm of a warm 
and affectionate nature he joined the highest order of military talents and 
the virtues of an exalted character. Even in Eno;land his death was 
mentioned with sorrow. New York, his adopted State, claimed his body, 
brought his remains to her own metropolis and buried them with tears. 
To after times the Congress of the nation transmitted his fame by erecting 
a noble monument. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

THE WORK OF '76. 



AT last came the king's answer to the appeal of Congress. It was 
such an answer as George III. and his ministers always made to the 
petitioners for human rights. The colonies were insulted and spurned ; 
their petition was treated with contempt. The king of England did not 
know any such a body as the Continental Congress. The first thing 
necessary was to disband the army and to submit without conditions. 
Then the monarch would settle all questions with each colony separately. 
^y this offensive and tyrannical answer the day of independence was 
brought nearer. 

]\Ieanwhile, General Howe had succeeded Gage in command of the 

20 



306 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



British troops in Boston. All winter long the city was besieged by 
Washington. By the middle of February the American army had in- 
creased to fourteen thousand men. The country became restless; and 
Congress urged the commander-in-chief to press the enemy with greater 
vigor. AVashington, knoAving the insufficiency of his supplies, and fear- 
ing the consequences of rashness more than the charge of inactivity, nar- 
rowed his lines, strengthened his works, and Avaited his opportunity. By 
the first day of spring, 1776, he felt himself strong enough to risk an 
assault ; the officers of his staff thought otherwise, and a different plan 
-was adopted. 

On the north, Boston was commanded by the peninsula of Charles- 
town ; on the south, by Dorchester Heights. Since the battle of Bunker 
Hill the former position had been held by the British ; the latter was, as 
yet, unoccupied. AYashington now resolved to take advantage of the 

enemy's oversight, to seize the 
Heio;hts and drive Howe out of 
Boston. A strong entrenching party 
was prepared and put under com- 
mand of General Thomas. For two 
days the attention of the British was 
drawn by a constant fire from the 
American batteries. Then, on the 
night of the 4th of March, the de- 
tachment set out under cover of the 
darkness, passed over Dorchester 
Neck, and reached tlie Heights un- 
perceived. Through the night the 
Americans worked with an energy 
rarely equaled. The British, dis- 
tracted with the cannonade, noticed nothing unusual ; and when morning 
dawned, they could hardly trust their senses. There was a line of for- 
midable entrenchments frowning upon the city ; cannon were mounted, 
and the Americans in force. Howe saw at a glance that he must imme- 
diately carry the threatening redoubts or himself abandon Boston. En- 
raged at being outgeneraled, he ordered Lord* Percy to select a column 
of two thousand four hundred men and storm the American worlvs before 
nightfall. 

Percy put his men in order and proceeded as far as Castle Island, 
intending to make the assault in the afternoon. Washington visited the 
trenches and exhorted his men. It Avas the anniversary of the Boston 
Massacre, and the soldiers were eao-er to avensje the deaths of their coun- 




SIEGC OF BOSTON, 1776. 



fi 



1775 76 



77 



78 



79 



SO 



81 



Louis jXVI. j 

CM \Cu2iture of 3Io ntreul. 



Alliance wilii France. 

Jj^Paul Jones' victory. 



Pi Quebec. — Deat h of Montgoni ery. 
"^I 17,00(» llessiians liired ibr the Anieriean war, 
^I^Q2*o>0 im, American army eva cuates Canad a. 

j Tlie British ministry offer terms to tlie 



War between Ei 



VIRGINIA. 



Britisli Heet arrives liuChesapeake 



]KORTH 



sorxH 



GEORG 

1^ Ticond 
W^ Crmvn 

NEW YO 



Norfolk burn ed by Lord Du nmore. 

CAROLIJ^A. 

I i 

Liy ChaH eston. 



NEW JE 
NEW HA 



CAROIil 



lA. 

eroga. 

Point. 

American 

RK. 

New York 
f^ Long Is 



NA. 



J^rtt'OH-i Sunbun,' capt 
nnh. 



ed. 



Arrival of La Fayette. 

^^liSag Har bor. 

Fort Ed ward abandon 
army arrives at New York. 
|Pi lien nington. 

K4^ Saratoga, and nur render of 

taken bv the British. 



land. 
^ Wh^ite Plains. 

p^ Fort Washingt vn. 

RSEY. R|£!"'"'^- 

I y^J\Princeton. 



^^Stony 



Bav. 



]r~\King'>i 
r "'^ Mount 

^•"Siege of 
'^i^Mon 



ured by the Br 
Siege of Savan 

Arn 

An 



Burgoyne. 
Point. 



Americans. 
Bichmond 

. M Gu 
am. r^ 

General Gi 

Charleston . 

k's Comer. 

Sanders Cri 
KTyCowpfti 
r^ Camden 

F4 Etito 
itisli. 
nah. 

old's treasoi 
dr6 execute" 



Win ter-quarters at F^ Spring 



Morristown 



]fl P S H I R E. ^H ubbardton 

RHODE ISLAND. 



p^ Lexingt 
f^Bun 

JMASSAC 



on. 

ker Bin. 

HLSETTSj 

British evacluat« Boston. 



French i fleet in Narragansett Bay, 
f:\QuakerHill. F'"^^^*^ 

\&i Penobscot JRiv 



CONNEC TIC IT. 

Washing 
PENNSY 



■x\< 



ton appointed commander-in -chief. i 

Declara tion of Inde pendence. 
J'A-'^^'A. Philadel phiacai)tured.l 

Silas Deane sent to France. British' evacuate Phil adelphia. 

Dr. Franklin, r-^Brandyioine. I i 

commissioner to France. I- -^^Ger»in»t<otTO, 




Mutiny of t 

field. 

Mutiny of t 



fleet arrives 



ArticI) 



5iaryea nd. 
dei^awIare. 



^*J 



83 



84 



H5 



S(> 



ss 



Eetiremeni 
Pre 

nil and Holla 
jg2 Siege 


of Lord North. 

liminary trea 

Suppienit-nt 

nd. Defin 

of Gibraltar. 


ty. 

a"l treaty. 

itive treaty. 




W^A. D. 1775-1789. ^^ 
/ CHART III. \ 


ned l>y Arno 
^orklown. 


Id. 


VVashiiigtun 

Virgin 


retires to Mou 

ia cedes the 
to the Gov 


nt Vernon. 

North-western 
em men t. 


territory 


Virginia rat- 
ifies the 
Constitution. 


rd. 

e's retreat. 












South Caro- 
lina ratifies 
the Consti- 
tution. 

Georgia rati- 
fies the Con- 
stitution. 


'ix. 
Springs. 


The 
The 


British evacu 
British evacu 


ate Charlesto 
ate Savannah. 


n. 




Dissatis 


The 

faction in the 


British evacu 
army. 


ate New York. 


Decimal 


currency adnp 


ted. 

New York ra- 
tifies the 
Constitution. 


New Jersey 
Pennsylvania 


line, 
line. 








New 
the 


Jersey ratifies 
Constitution. 














siiire ratifies 
the Constitu'n 


*fewport. 












! 


Id's depreda 


tions. 


Massa 
ter 


chusetts cedes 
ritory to the 


Shay's 

the North-wes 
Government. 


rebellion. 
t€rn 


1 

Massachusetts 

ratifies the 
Constitution. 

Connecticut 

ratifies the 

Constitutidn. 


tf Confeder 


ation ratifie 


d. 

shington re 






Constitu 
ven 

Constitu 
Constitu 


tional Con- 
tion. 

tion adopted, 
tion ratified. 




Wa 


signs his com 


mission. 

Annapo 
ven 


lis Con- 
tion. 


tifii's tlie 
Constitution. 












Dela 
the 


ware ratifies . 
Constitution, f 



THE WORK OF 76. 307 

trymen. A battle was momentarily expected ; but while Percy delayed, 
a violent storm arose and rendered the harbor impassable. It continued 
to blow for a whole day, and the attack could not be made. Before the 
following morning the Americans had so strengthened and extended their 
fortifications that all thoughts of an assault were abandoned. Howe 
found himself reduced to the humiliating extremity of giving up the 
capitjil of New England to the rebels. 

After some days there was an informal agreement between Washing- 
ton and the British general that the latter should be allowed to retire 
from Boston unmolested on condition that the city should not be burned. 
On the 1 7th of March the arrangement was consummated, and the whole 
British army went on board the fleet and sailed out of the harbor. Nearly 
fifteen hundred loyalists, fearing the vengeance of the patriots, left their 
homes and fortunes to escape with Howe. The American advance at 
once entered the city. On the 20th, AVashington made a formal entry at 
the head of the triumphant army. The desolated town, escaping from 
the calamities of a ten mouths' siege, broke forth in exultation. The 
exiled patriots returned by thousands to their homes. The country was 
wild with delight. From all quarters came votes of thanks and messages 
of encouragement. Congress ordered a gold medal to be struck in honor 
of Washington, victorious over an enemy " for the first time put to flight." 

The next care of the commander-in-chief was to strengthen the 
defences of Boston. That done, he repaired with the main division of 
the army to New York. It was not knoM'u to what part of the coast 
Howe would direct his course ; and Washington feared that his antagonist 
might make a sudden descent in the neighl)orhood of Long Island. Gen- 
eral Lee pressed forward with the Connecticut militia, and reached New 
York just in time to baffle an attempt of Sir Henry Clinton, whose 
fleet arrived off Sandy Hook and threatened the city. Clinton next 
sailed southward, and on the 3d of INIay was joined by Sir Peter 
Parker, in command of another fleet, and Lord Cornwallis with two thou- 
sand five hundred men. The force was deemed sufficient for any enter- 
prise, and it was determined to capture Charleston. 

In the mean time, General Lee had reached the South, and was 
watching the movements of Clinton. The Carolinians rose in arms and 
flocked to Charleston. The city was fortified ; and a fort, which com- 
manded the entrance to the harbor, was built on Sullivan's Island. On 
the 4th of June the British squadron came in sight, and a strong detach- 
ment was landed on Long Island, a short distance east of Fort Sullivan. 
There was a delay until the 28th of the month ; then the British fleet 
began a furious bombardment of the fortress, which was commanded by 



308 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Colonel Moultrie. Three men-of-Avar, attempting to pass the fort, were 
stranded. Clinton ordered a storming-party to wade the channel between 
Long Island and Sullivan's Island and carry the works by assault ; but 
the water was too deep to be forded, and Colonel Thompson, who was 
stationed with a company of riflemen on the opposite bank, drove the 
British back in confusion. For eight hours the vessels of the fleet poured 
a tempest of balls upon the fort ; but the walls, built of the spongy yial- 
metto, were little injured. The four hundred militiamen who composed 
the garrison fought like veterans. The republican flag was shot away 
and thrown outside of the parapet ; Sergeant Jasper leaped down from the 
Avail, recovered the flag and set it in its place again. The fire from the 
fleet was returned with great spirit ; and as evening drew on the British 
were obliged to retire with a loss of more than two hundred men. Lord 
Campbell, the royal governor of South Carolina, was killed, and Admiral 
Parker was severely wounded. The loss of the garrison amounted in 
killed and wounded to thirty-two. As soon as the British could repair 
their shattered fleet they abandoned the siege and set sail for New York. 
In honor of its brave defender the fort on Sullivan's Island was named 
Fort Moultrie. 

During the summer Washington's forces were augmented to about 
twenty-seven thousand men ; but the terms of enlistment were constantly 
expiring ; sickness prevailed in the camp ; and the effective force was but 
little more than half as great as the aggregate. On the other hand. Great 
Britain Avas making the vastest preparations. By a treaty with some of 
the petty German States, seventeen thousand Hessian mercenaries Avere 
hired to fight against America. George III. Avas going to quell his re- 
volted provinces by turning loose upon them a brutal foreign soldiery. 
Twenty-five thousand additional English troops Av^re levied ; an immense 
squadron Avas fitted out to aid in the reduction of the colonies, and a 
million dollars Avere voted for the extraordinary expenses of the Avar 
department. 

By these measures the Americans Avere greatly exasperated. Until 
noAV it had been hoped that the difficulty Avith the mother country could 
be satisfactorily adjusted Avithout breaking allegiance to the British CroAvn. 
The colonists had constantly claimed to be loyal subjects of Great Britain, 
demanding only the rights and liberties of Englishmen. Noav the case 
seemed hopeless ; and the sentiment of disloyalty spread Avith alarming 
rapidity. The people urged the general assemblies, and the general 
assemblies urged Congress, to a more decided assertion of soA^ereignty. 
The legislature of Virginia led the Avay by advising in outspoken terms a 
declaration of independence. Congress responded by recommending all 



THE WORK OF 76. 300 

the colonies to adopt sucli governments as might best conduce to the hap- 
piness and safety of the people. This action was taken early in May, and 
in the coui'se of the following month nearly all the provinces complied 
with the recommendation. 

Finally, on the 7th of June, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia 
offered a resolution in Congress declaring that the United Colonies are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are 
absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown ; and that all political 
connection between them and Great Britain is, and ought to be, dissolved. 
A long and exciting debate ensued. The sentiment of independence 
^ gained ground ; but there was still strong opposition to the movement. 
After some days the final consideration of Lee's resolution was postponed 
until the 1st of July. On the 11th of June a committee, consisting of 
five members, was appointed to prepare a more elaborate and formal dec- 
laration. Mr. Lee had been called home by sickness ; and his colleague, 
Thomas Jefferson, was accordingly made chairman of the committee. The 
other members were John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Franklin 
of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut and Robert R. Livingston 
of New York. The special work of preparing the paper was allotted to 
Jefferson and Adams ; the latter deferred to the former, whose vigorous 
style of writing specially fitted him for the task. The great document 
was accordingly produced in Jefferson's hand, w4th a fe^v interlinings by 
Adams and Franklin, 

On the 1st of July, Lee's resolution was taken uj), and at the same 
time the committee's report was laid before Congress. On the next day 
the original resolution was adopted. During the 3d, the formal declara- 
tion was debated with great sj^irit, and it became evident that the work 
of the committee would be accepted. The discussion was resumed on the 
morning of the 4th, and at two o'clock on the afternoon of that memorable 
day the Declaration of American Independence Avas adopted by 
a unanimous vote. 

All day long the old bellman of the State House had stood in the 

steeple ready to sound the note of freedom to the city and the nation. The 

hours went by ; the gray-haired veteran in the belfry grew discouraged, and 

began to say : *' They will never do it — they will never do it." Just then 

the lad who had been stationed below ran out and exclaimed at the top of 

his voice, " Ring ! ring !" And the aged patriot did ring as he had never 

rung; before. The multitudes that thronged the streets cauaht the signal 

o o & fr- 

aud answered with shouts of exultation. Swift couriers bore the glad news 

throughout the land. Everywhere the declaration was received with 

enthusiastic applause. At Philadelphia the king's arms were torn down 



olO HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

from the court-house and burned in the street. At Williamsburg, 
Charleston and Savannah there were bonfires and illuminations. At 
Boston the declaration was read in Faneuil Hall, while the cannon from 
Fort Hill and Dorchester shook the city of the Puritans. At New York 
the populace pulled down the leaden statue of George III. and cast it into 
bullets. Washington received the message with joy, and ordered the 
declaration to be read at the head of each brirade. Former suffering and 
future peril were alike forgotten in the general rejoicing. 

The leading principles of the Declaration of Independence are 
these : That all men are created equal ; that all have a natural right to 
liberty and the pursuit of happiness ; that human governments are insti- 
tuted for the sole purpose of securing the welfare of the people ; that the 
people have a natural right to alter their government whenever it becomes 
destructive of liberty ; that the government of George III. had become 
destructive of liberty; that the despotism of the king and his ministers 
could be shown by a long list of indisputable proofs — and the proofs are 
given; that time and again the colonies had humbly petitioned for a 
redress of grievances; that all their petitions had been spurned with 
derision and contempt ; that the king's irrational tyranny over his Amer- 
ican subjects was no longer endurable ; that an appeal to the sword is pref- 
erable to slavery ; and that, therefore, the United Colonies of America are, 
and of right ought to be, free and independent States. To the support 
of this sublime declaration of principles the members of the Continental 
Congress mutually pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred 
honor. 

On leaving Boston, General Howe sailed to Halifax. There he 
remained until the middle of June, when he embarked his forces and 
set sail for Sandy Hook. Early in July he landed a force of nine thou- 
sand men on Staten Island. Thither Clinton came from the unsuccess- 
ful siege of Charleston, and Admiral Howe, brother of General Howe, from 
England. The whole British force, now gathered in the vicinity of New 
York, amounted to fully thirty thousand men. Nearly half of them were 
the hated Hessians whom the king of Great Britain had hired at thirty- 
six dollars a hejid. Washington's army was inferior in numbers, poorly 
equipped and imperfectly disciplined. 

There was some delay in military operations ; for Lord Howe, the 
admiral, had been instructed to try conciliatory measures with the Amer- 
icans. First, he sent to the American camp an officer with a despatch 
directed to George Washington, Esquire. Of course Washington refused 
to receive a communication which did not recognize his official position. 
In a short time Howe sent another message, addressed to George Wash- 



THE WORK OF 76. 



311 



ington, etc., etc., etc. ; and the bearer, M-ho was Howe's adjutant-general, 
insisted that and-so-j'orth might be translated General of the American 
Army. Washington was the last man in the world to be caught w^itli a 
subterfuge; and the adjutant was sent away. It was already well known 
that Howe's authority extended only to granting pardons, and to unes- 
sential matters about which the Americans were no longer concerned. 
Washington therefore replied that since no offence had been committed 
no pardon was required ; that the colonies were now independent, and 
would defend themselves against all aggression. 

Baffled in his efforts, Lord Howe and his brother determined to 
begin hostilities. On the 22d of August the British, to the number of 
ten thousand, landed on the south-western coast of Long Island, near the 
village of New L^trecht. The Americans, about eight thousand strong, 
commanded by Generals Sullivan and Stirling, were posted in the vicinity 
of Brooklyn. The advance of the British was planned with great skill. 
From Gravesend, where Howe's forces were landed, there were three 
roads to Brooklyn ; the British army Mas accordingly arranged in three 
divisions. The first column, commanded by General Grant, was to ad- 
vance by way of Utrecht and the Narrows. The second division, com- 
posed of the Hessians, under command of General Heister, was to proceed 
to Flatbush, and thence to Bedford and Brooklyn. The third and strong- 
est column, led by Clinton and Cornwallis, was to make a circuit to the 
right as far as Flatland, reach the 
Jamaica road, and pass by Avay of 
Bedford to the rear of the American 
left wing. All of the movements 
were executed with perfect ease and 
fatal precision. 

The advance from Gravesend 
began on the morning of the 27tli of 
August. Grant's division proceeded 
as far as the hill now embraced in 
Greenwood Cemetery, where he met 
General Stirling with fifteen hundred 

and the battle at once beo;an. 




,' lledforils'.f 



men : 

But in this part of the field there was 

no decisive result. Heister, in com- battle of Lo>rG island, 1776. 

mand of the British centre, advanced 

beyond Flatbush, and engaged the main body of the Americans, under 

General Sullivan. Here the battle began with a brisk cannonade, in 

which the Hessians gained little or no ground until Sullivan was suddenly 



312 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

alarmed by the noise of battle on his left and rear, and the battalions of 
Clinton came rushing on the field. 

For General Putnam, who had come over and taken command of 
the entire force of the island, had, neglectful of Washington's orders, 
failed to guard the passes on the left of the American army. During the 
previous night Clinton had occupied the heights above the Jamaica road, 
and now his force came down, unopposed and unperceived, by way of 
Bedford. Sullivan found himself surrounded, cut off, hemmed in between 
the two divisions of Clinton and Heister. From that moment it was only 
a question as to wdiat part of the army could be saved from destruction. 
The men fought desperately, and many broke through the closing lines of 
the British. The rest were scattered, killed or taken prisoners. 

Cornwallis's division pressed on to cut off the retreat of Stirling. 
At first the British were repulsed, and Stirling began his retreat toward 
Brooklyn. At Gowanus Creek a number of his men were drowned and 
many others captured ; the rest reached the American lines in safety. 
Before the battle was ended Washington arrived on the field, and his 
soul was wrung with anguish at the sight. At first his army seemed 
ruined; but his resolute and tranquil spirit rose above the disasters of the 
battle. Generals Stirling, Sullivan and Woodhull wx^re all prisoners in 
the hands of the enemy. Nearly a thousand patriot soldiers M'cre killed, 
w^ounded or missing. It seemed an easy thing for Clinton and Howe to 
press on and capture all the rest. Yet in a few hours AVashington 
J3rought together his shattered forces, reorganized his brigades and stood 
ready for an assault in the trenches back of Brooklyn. 

During the 28th, Howe, who was a sluggish, sensual man, ate 
pudding and waited for a fitter day. On the 29th there was a heavy 
fog over island and bay and river. Washington, clearly perceiving that 
he could not hold his position, and that his army was in great peril, re- 
solved to withdraw to New^ York. The enterprise was extremely hazard- 
ous, requiring secrecy, courage and despatch. By eight o'clock on that 
memorable night every boat and transport that could be obtained was 
lying at the Brooklyn ferry. There, under cover of the darkness, the 
epibarkation began. Washington personally superintended every move- 
ment. All night with muffled oars the boatmen rowed silently back and 
forth, bearing the patriots to the northern side of the channel. At day- 
lio-ht on the following morning, just as the last boatload was leaving the 
wharf, the movement was discovered by the British. They rushed into 
the American entrenchments, and found nothing there except a few worth- 
less guns. After a severe battle Mdiich had cost him nearly four hundred 
men, Howe had gained possession of Long Island — and nothing more. 



THE WORK OF 76. 313 

General Greene, who was a competent judge, declared that "Washington's 
retreat was the most masterly he ever read or heard of. 

The defeat on Long Island was very disastrous to the American 
cause. The army was dispirited. As fast as their terms of enlistment 
expired the troops returned to their homes. Desertions became alarm- 
ingly frequent ; and it was only by constant exertion that Washington 
kept his army from disbanding. To add to the peril, the British fleet 
doubled Long Island and anchored within cannon-shot of New York. 
Washington, knowing himself unable to defend the city, called a council 
of war, and it was determined to retire to the Heights of Harlem. On 
the 15th of September tlie British landed in force on the east side of 
Manhattan Island, about three miles above New York. Thence they 
extended their lines across the island to the Hudson, and took possession 
of the city. It was in tliis juncture of affairs that Howe made overtures 
of peace to Congress. General Sullivan was paroled and sent to Philadel- 
phia as Howe's agent ; but Congress was in no mood to be conciliated. 
Franklin, on behalf of that body, wrote Howe a letter, telling him many 
unpalatable truths about what might lienceforth be expected from the 
American colonies. 

On the next day after the British gained possession of New York, 
there was a skirmish betv/een the advance parties of the two ai'mies north 
of the city. The Americans gained a decided advantage, and the British 
were driven back with a loss of a hundred men. On the American side 
the loss included Colonel Knowlton and Major Lcitch — two valuable 
officers — and nearly fifty privates. On the night of the 20t]i of Septem- 
ber a fire broke out in New York and destroyed nearly five hundred 
buildings. On the 16th of October, while the Americans were still in 
their entrenchments above the city, Howe embarked liis forces, passed 
into Long Island Sound and landed in the vicinity of Westchester. The 
olijcct was to get upon tlie American left flank and cut off communica- 
tions with the Eastern States. AYivshington, ever on the alert, detected 
the movement, put his army in motion and faced the British east of Har- 
lem River. For some days the two generals manceuvred, and on the 
28th a battle was brought on at W^hite Plains. Howe began the engage- 
ment with a furious cannonade, which was answered with spirit. The 
Americans were driven from one important position, but immediately re- 
entrenched themselves in another. Night came on ; Howe waited for 
reinforcements, and Washington withdrew to the heights of North Castle. 
Howe remained for a few days at AVliite Plains, and then returned to 
New York. 

Washington, apprehending that the British would now proceed 



314 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 







SCENE OF OPERATIONS ABOUT 
NEW YORK, 1776. 



against Philadelphia, crossed to the west bank of the Hudson and took 
post with General Greene at Fort Lee. Four thousand men were left at 

North Castle under command of General Lee. 
Fort Washington, on Manhattan Island, five 
miles north of the city, was defended by three 
thousand men under Colonel JMaraw. This 
fort was a place of great natural and artificial 
strength. The skill of its construction had 
attracted the attention of Washington and led 
to an acquaintance with the engineer, who 
from that time forth, through the stormy vi- 
cissitudes of nearly a quarter of a century, en- 
joyed the unclouded confidence of his chief; 
the engineer was Alexander Hamilton, 
then a stripling of but twenty years of age. 
On the IGtli of November the British 
attacked Fort Washington in overwhelming 
force. The garrison made a stubborn defence. 
More than five hundred of the assailants were 
killed or wounded. But valor could not ])revail against superior num- 
bers, and Magaw, after losing a hundred and fifty men, was obliged to 
capitulate. The garrison, numbering more than two thousand, were made 
prisoners of war and crowded into the foul jails of New York. Two 
davs after the surrender, Cornwallis crossed the Hudson with a body of 
six thousand men and marched against Fort Lee. Seeing that a defence 
would only end in worse disaster, Washington hastily withdrew across the 
Haekensack. All the baggage and military stores collected in Fort Lee 
fell into the hands of the British, who at once pressed forward after the 
retreating Americans. Washington with his army, now reduced to three 
thousand men, crossed tlie Passaic to Newark ; but Cornwallis and Knyp- 
hausen came hard after the fugitives. The patriots retreated to Elizabeth- 
town, thence to New^ Brunswick, thence to Princeton, and finally to 
Trenton on the Delaware. The British Avere all the time in close pursuit, 
and the music of their bands was frequently heard by the rearguard of 
the American army. Nothing but the consummate skill of Washington 
saved the remnant of his forces from destruction. Despair seemed settling 
on the country like a pall. 

On the 8th of December, Washington crossed the Delaware. The 
British essayed to do the same, but the American commander had secreted 
or destroved every boat within seventy miles. In order to effect his 
passage, Cornwallis must build a bridge or wait for the freezing of the 



THE WORK OF 76. 315 

river. The latter course was chosen ; and the British army was stationed 
in detachments in varions towns and villages east of the Delaware. Tren- 
ton was held by a body of nearly two thousand Hessians under Colonel 
Rahl. It was seen that as soon as the river should be frozen the British 
would march unopposed into Philadelphia. Congress accordingly ad- 
journed to Baltimore ; and there, on the 20th of the month, a resolution 
was adopted arming Washington with dictatorial powers to direct all the 
ojicrations of the war. 

JNIeanwhile, the British fleet under command of Admiral Parker 
had left New York for Narragansett Bay. On the same day that Wash- 
ington crossed the Delaware the islands of Rhode Island, Prudence and 
Conanicut were taken ; and the American squadron under Commander 
Hopkins was blockaded in Blackstone River. During his retreat across 
Xew Jersey, Washington had sent repeated despatches to General Lee, in 
command of the detachment at Xorth Castle, to join the main army as 
soon as jjossible. Lee Mas a proud, insubordinate man, and virtually 
disobeyed his orders. INIarching leisurely into New Jersey, he reached 
Morristown. Here he tarried, and took up his quarters at an inn at 
Basking Ridge. On the 13th of December, a squad of British cavalry 
dashed up to the tavern, seized Lee and hurried him off to New York. 
General Sullivan, who had recently been exchanged, now took command 
of Lee's division, and hastened to join Washington. Fifteen hundred 
volunteers from Philadelphia and vicinity were added, making the entire 
American force a little more than six thousand. 

The tide of misfortune turned at last. Washington saw in the 
disposition of the British forces an opportunity to strike a blow for his 
disheartened country. The leaders of the enemy were off their guard. 
They believed that the war was ended. Cornwallis obtained leave of 
absence, left New Jersey under command of Grant, and made preparations 
to return to England. The Hessians on the east side of the river were 
spread out from Trenton to Burlington. Washington conceived the bold 
design of crossing the Delaware and striking the detachment at Trenton 
before a concentration of the enemy's forces could be effected. The 
American army was accordingly arranged in three divisions. The first, 
under General Cadwallader, was to cross the river at Bristol and attack 
the British at Burlington. General Ewing with his brigade was to j)ass 
over a little below Trenton for the purpose of intercepting the retreat. 
AYashington himself, with Greene and Sullivan and twenty-four hundred 
men, was to cross nine miles above Trenton, march down the river and 
assault the town. The movement was planned with the utmost secrecy 
— the preparations made M-ith prudence and care, Christmas night Avas 



316 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



selected as the time ; for it was known that the Hessians Mould spend the 
day in drinking and carousals. 

About the 20th of the month, the weather became very cold, and 
by the evening of the 25th the Delaware was filled with floating ice. 
Ewino; and Cadwalladcr were both baffled in their efforts to cross the 
river. Washington's division succeeded in getting over, but the passage 
■svas delayed till three o'clock in the morning. All hope of reaching 
Trenton before daybreak was at an end ; but Washington, believing that 
the PIcssians would sleep late after their revels, divided his army into two 
columns and pressed forward. One division, led by Sullivan, passed 
down the river to attack the town on the west; 
the other, commanded by Washington and Greene, 
made a circuit to the Princeton road. The move- 
ment was entirely successful. At eight o'clock 
in the morning the American columns came rush- 
ino; into the village from both directions. The 
astonished Hessians sprang from their quarters 
and attempted to form in line. At the first onset 
Colonel Raid was mortally wounded. Forty or 
fifty others fell before the volleys of the patriots. 
For a few minutes there was confusion, and then 
a cry for quarter. Kearly a thousand of the 
dreaded Hessians threw down their arms and 
begged for mercy. At the first alarm about six 
hundred light horse and infantry had escaped 
toward BordcntOAvn. All the rest were made prisoners of war. Before 
nightfall Washington, with his victorious men and the whole body of 
cai)tives, was safe on the other side of the Delaware. 

The battle of Trenton roused the nation from despondency. Con- 
fidence in the commander and hope in the ultimate success of the Amer- 
ican cause were everywhere revived. The militia from the neighboring 
ijrovinces flocked to the general's standard; and fourteen hundred sol- 
diers, whose term of enlistment now expired, cheerfully re-entered the 
service. It was at this time that Robert Morris of Philadelphia, the great 
financier of the Revolution, came forw^ard with his princely fortune to 
the support of his distressed country. As to Cornwallis, he found it nec- 
essary to postpone his visit to England and hasten back to Xew Jersey. 
Three days after his victory, Washington again crossed the Del- 
aware and took post at Trenton. Here all the American detachments in 
the vicinity were ordered to assemble. To General Heath, in command 
of the New England militia stationed at Pcekskill, on the Hudson, Wash- 




BATTLE OF TRENTON AND 
PRINCETON, 177G-7. 



OPERATIONS OF 77. 317 

ington sent orders to move into New Jersey. The British fell back from 
their outposts on the Delaware and concentrated in great force at Prince- 
ton. Coruwallis took command in person, and resolved to attack and 
overwhelm Washington at Trenton. So closed the year. Ten days 
previously, Howe only waited for the freezing of the Delaware before 
taking up his quarters in Philadelphia. Now it was a question whether 
he would be able to hold a single town in New Jersey. 



CHAPTER XL. 

OPERATIONS OF '77. 



OX the 1st of January, 1777, Washington's army at Trenton numbered 
about five thousand men. On the next day Coruwallis approached 
from Princeton with greatly superior forces. The British were exasper- 
ated and the Americans resolute. During the afternoon there was severe 
and constant skirmishing in the fields and along the roads to the east and 
north of Trenton. As the columns of the enemy pressed on, Washington 
abandoned the village and took up a stronger position on the south side 
of Assanpink Creek. The British, attempting to force a passage, were 
driven back ; it was already sunset, and Coruwallis deferred the attack 
till the morrow. 

2. Washington's position was critical in the extreme. To attempt to 
rccross the Delaware was hazardous. To retreat in any direction was to 
lose all that he had gained by his recent victory. To be beaten in battle 
was utter ruin. In the great emergency he called a council of war and 
announced his determination to leave the camp by night, make a circuit 
to the east, pass the British left flank and strike the detachment at Prince- 
ton l)efore his antagonist could discover or impede the movement. Orders 
were immediately issued for the removal of the baggage to Burlington. 
In order to deceive the enemy, the camp-fires along the Assanpink were 
brightly kindled and a guard left to keep them burning through the night. 
Then the army was put in motion by the circuitous route to Princeton. 
Everything was done in silence, and the British sentries walked their 
beats until the morning light showed them a deserted camp. Just then 
the roar of the American cannon, thirteen miles away, gave Coruwallis 
notice of how he had been outgeneraled. 

At sunrise Washinixton was enterino; Princeton. At the same mo- 



318 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ment the British regiments stationed there were marching out by the 
Trenton road to reinforce Cornwallis. The Americans met them in tlie 
edo-e of the village, and the battle at once began. The patriots, under 
General Mercer, posted themselves behind a hedge, and were doing good 
work with their muskets until the British charged bayonets. Then the 
militia gave way in confusion, and Mercer, one of the bravest of the brave, 
received a mortal wound. But the Pennsylvania reserves and regulars 
were at hand, led by the commander-in-chief. The valor of Washington 
never shone with brighter lustre. He spurred among his flying men, who 
rallied at his call. He rode between the hostile lines and reined his horse 
within thirty yards of the enemy's column. There he stood. From both 
sides there came a crash of musketry. "Washington's aid drew his hat 
over his eyes that he might not see the chieftain die. The wind tossed 
up the smoke, and there, unhurt, was the sublime leader of the American 
armies. The British were already broken and flying, with a loss of four 
hundred and thirty men in killed, wounded and missing. The loss of 
the Americans was small ; but the gallant Mercer was greatly lamented. 

Washington had intended to press on to Brunswick and destroy the 
enemy's magazines. His men, however, were too much exhausted for the 
march. The legions of Cornwallis were already in hearing, and there 
was no time for delay. Washington accordingly withdrew to the north, 
and on the 5th of January took a strong position at Morristown. Corn- 
wallis hastened to New Brunswick to protect his stores. In a short time 
the whole of New Jersey north of Newark and Elizabcthtown was recov- 
ered by the patriots. In all parts of the State the militia rose in arms ; 
straggling parties of the British were cut off, and the outposts of the enemy 
were kept in constant alarm. The Hessians, whose barbarous invasion 
and brutal conduct had almost ruined the country, were the special objects 
of patriot vengeance. Yexcd by the perpetual assaults of partisan war- 
fare, Cornwallis gradually contracted his lines, abandoning one post after 
another, until his whole force was cooped up in New Brunswick and 
Amboy. The boastful British army that was to have taken Philadelphia 
now thought only of a safe return to New York. 

In the early spring. General Howe despatched a fleet up the Hudson 
to destroy the American stores at Peekskill. INIacdougal, the command- 
ant, finding himself too feeble to make a successful defence, blew up the 
magazines and retreated. On the 13th of April Cornwallis marched a 
division out of New Brunswick and surprised General Lincoln, who was 
stationed at Boundbrook on the Raritan ; but the latter made good his 
retreat with a trifling" loss. On the 25th of the same month. General 
Tryon with a detachment of two thousand men landed on the north shore 



OPERATIONS OF 77. 819 

of Long Island Sound, and j^roceeded against Danbuiy, Connecticut. 
After destroying a large quantity of stores and burning the town the 
British began a retreat to tlie coast. Jmmediately they were attacked on 
flank and rear by the exasperated patriots, who, led by the aged Wooster 
and the daring Arnold, made charge after charge on the retreating foe. 
Before regaining their shipping the British lost more than two hundred 
men ; of the patriots about sixty were killed and wounded. The veteran 
Wooster, now sixty-eight years of age, fell in this engagement. 

A similar expedition, undertaken by the Americans, Avas more suc- 
cessful. Colonel ]\Ieigs, of Connecticut, learning that the British were 
collecting stores at Sag Harbor, near the eastern extremity of Long Island, 
gathered two hundred militiamen, and determined to surprise the post. 
On the night of the 22d of May he embarked his men in whale-boats, 
crossed the Sound, and reached Sag Harbor just before day dawn on the 
following morning. The British, numbering a hundred, were over- 
powered ; only four of them escaped ; five or six were killed, and the re- 
maining ninety were made prisoners. A gun-ship, ten loaded transports 
and a vast amount of stores were destroyed by the victorious patriots, who, 
without the loss of a man, returned to Guilford with their captives. For 
this gallant deed Colonel Meigs received an elegant sword from Congress. 

Washington remained in his camp at Morristown until the latter 
part of jNIay. Cornwallis was still at Xew Brunswick, and it was neces- 
sary that the American commander should watch the movements of his 
antagonist. The patriot forces of the North Avere now concentrated on the 
Hudson ; and a large camp, under command of Arnold, was laid out on 
the Delaware. Both divisions were within supporting distance of "Wash- 
ington, who now broke up his winter-quarters and took an advantageous 
position at Boundbrook, only ten miles fi-om the British camp. Howe 
now crossed over from New York, reinforced Cornwallis and threatened 
an attack upon the American lines ; but Washington stood his ground, 
and Howe pressed forward as far as Somerset Court-House, in the direc- 
tion of the Delaware. The movement was only a feint intended to draw 
Washington from his position ; but he was too wary to be deceived, and 
the British fell back through New Brunswick to Amboy. The American 
lines were now advanced as far as Quibbletown. While in this position, 
HoAve, on the night of the 25th of June, turned suddenly about and made 
a furious attack on the American van ; but Washington withdrew his 
forces without serious loss and regained his position at Boundbrook. 
Again the British retired to Amboy, and on the 30th of the month crossed 
over to Staten Island. After more than six months of manosuvriug and 
fighting the invading army was fairly driven out of New Jersey. 



320 HISTORY OF THE UmTED STATES.^ 

On the lOtli of July a brilliant exploit was performed in Rhode 
Island. Colonel William Barton, of Providence, learning that INIajor- 
General Prescott of the British army was quartered at a farm-house near 
Newport, apart from his division, determined to capture him. On the 
night of the 16th of July the daring colonel, with forty volunteers, em- 
barked at Providence, dropped down the bay, and reached the island 
near Prescott's lodgings. The movement was not discovered. The 
British sentinel was deceived with a plausible statement, and then threat- 
ened with death if he did not remain quiet. The patriots rushed forAvard, 
burst open Prescott's door, seized him in bed, and hurried him, half clad, 
to the boats. The alarm was raised ; a squad of cavalry came charging 
to the water's edge ; but the provincials were already paddling out of 
sight with their prisoner. This lucky exploit gave the Americans an 
officer of equal rank to exchange for General Lee. Colonel Barton was 
rewarded with promotion and an elegant sword. 

Meanwhile, Congress had returned to Philadelphia. The American 
government was at this time essentially weak in its structure and ineffi- 
cient in action. Nevertheless, there was much valuable legislation which 
tended to strengthen the army and the nation. But the most auspicious 
sign that gladdened the patriots was the unequivocal sympathy of the 
French. From the beginning of the contest the people of France had 
espoused the American cause. Now, after the lapse of two years, their 
sympathy became more outspoken and enthusiastic. True, the French 
government would do nothing openly which was calculated to provoke a 
war Avith Great Britain. Outwardly the forms and sentiments of peace 
were preserved between the two nations ; but secretly the French rejoiced 
at British misfortune and applauded the action of the colonies. Soon the 
Americans came to understand that if money was required France would 
lend it ; if supplies were needed, France woukl furnish them ; if arms 
were to be purchased, France had arms to sell. During the year 1777 
the French partisans of America managed to supply the colonies with 
more than twenty thousand muskets and a thousand barrels of powder. 

At last the republicans of France, displeased with the double-deal- 
ino- of their government, began to embark for America. Foremost of all 
came the gallant young Maequis of La Fayette.* Though the king 
withheld permission, though the British minister protested, though family 
and home and kindred beckoned the youthful nobleman to return, he left 
all to fight the battle of freedom in another land. Fitting a vessel at his 
own expense, he eluded the officers, and with the brave De Kalb and a 
small company of followers reached Georgetown, South Carolina, in 
* La Fayette's name was Gilbert Motier. 



OPERATIONS OF 77. 321 

April of 1777. He, at once entered the patriot army as a volunteer, and 
in the following July was commissioned as a major-general. Not yet 
twenty years of age, he clung to Washington as son to father, and through 
life their friendship was unclouded. 

One of the most important events of the whole war was the cam- 
paign of Lieutenant-General Burgoyne. This distinguished British officer 
arrived at Quebec in March of 1777. Superseding Sir Guy Carleton in 
command of the English forces in Canada, he spent the months of April 
and May in organizing a powerful army for the invasion of New York. 
By the beginning of June he had thoroughly equipped a force of ten thou- 
sand men, of whom about seven thousand were British and Hessian vet- 
erans; the rest were Canadians and Indians. The j^lan of the campaign 
embraced a descent upon Albany by way of Lake Champlain, Lake 
George and the Upper Hudson. From Albany it was Burgoync's pur- 
pose to descend the river to New York and unite his forces with the main 
division of the British army. By this means New England was to be cut 
off from the Middle and Southern colonies and the whole country placed 
at the mercy of Howe. That any successful resistance could be offered to 
the progress of the invading army was little imagined. 

On the 1st of June Burgoyne reached St. John's, at the foot of 
Lake Champlain, and on the 16th proceeded to Crown Point. This 
place, which was undefended, Avas occupied by a British garrison ; and 
the main army swept on to Ticonderoga, which was at that time held by 
three thousand men under General St. Clair. The British soon gained 
possession of ]\Iount Defiance, and planted a battery seven hundred feet 
above the American works. INIount Hope w^as also seized and retreat by 
Avay of Lake George cut off. St. Clair, seeing that resistance would be 
hopeless, abandoned the fort on the night of the 5th of July, and escaped 
with the garrison by way of Mount Independence and Wood Creek. The 
British pressed after the fugitives, and overtook them at Hubbardton, a 
village in Vermont, seventeen miles from Ticonderoga. A sharp engage- 
ment ensued, in which the Americans fought so obstinately as to check the 
pursuit ; and then continued their retreat to Fort Edward. On the fol- 
lowing day the British reached Whitehall and captured a large quantity 
of baggage, stores and provisions. 

At this time the American army of the North was commanded by 
General Schuyler, a man whose patriotism was greater than his abilities. 
His headquarters were at Fort Edward, where he remained until after the 
arrival of St. Clair. The garrison now numbered between four and five 
thousand men ; but this force was deemed inadequate to hold the place 
against Burgoyne's army. Schuyler therefore evacuated the post and 



322 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

retreated down the Hudson as far as the islands at the mouth of the 
Mohawk. Burgoyne came on by way of Fort Ann, which the Americans 
had demolished, and thence through the woods over obstructed roads to 
Fort Edward, where he arrived on the 30th of July. Fearing that his 
supplies would be exhausted before he could reach Albany, the British 
general now made a halt, and despatched Colonel Baum \\\i\\ five hundred 
men to seize the provincial stores at Bennington, Vermont. Colonel 
John Stark rallied the New Hampshire militia, and on the 15th of 
Auo-ust met the British a short distance from the village. On the follow- 
ing morning there was a furious battle, in which Baum's force was fairly 
annihilated. A battalion of Hessians, led by Breymann, arrived on the 
field, only to be utterly routed by the Americans, who were reinforced by 
the gallant colonel Y/^arner. The British lost a hundred and forty in 
killed and wounded, and nearly seven hundred prisoners. The whole 
country was thrilled by the victory, and the patriots began to rally from 
all quarters. 

A few days after the battle of Bennington, Burgoyne received in- 
telligence of a still greater reverse. At the beginning of the invasion a 
laro-e force of Canadians, Tories and Indians, commanded by General St. 
Leo-cr, had been sent by way of Oswego against Fort Schmder, at the 
head of navigation on the Mohawk. This important post was held by a 
small garrison under Colonel Gansevoort. On the 3d of August St. Leger 
invested the fort, and it seemed that a successful defence Mas impossible ; 
but the brave General Herkimer rallied the militia of the surrounding 
country and advanced to the relief of the garrison. When nearing the 
fort, the patriots fell into an Indian ambuscade, and a terrible hand-to- 
hand conflict ensued in the woods. Herkimer was defeated with a loss 
of a hundred and sixty men in killed, wounded and prisoners. The loss 
of the savages was almost as great. Hardly had the conflict ended when 
the garrison made a sally, carried everything before them, and then fell 
back with trophies and prisoners. Already the impetuous and fearless 
Arnold had volunteered to lead a detachment from the Hudson for the 
relief of the fort. At his approach the savages plundered the British 
camp and fled. St. Leger, dismayed at the treachery of the barbarians, 
raised the siege and retreated. Fort Schuyler was saved and strengthened. 
Such was the news that was borne to Burgoyne at Fort Edward. 

The British general had now lost a month in procuring supplies 
from Canada. Should he retreat? Ruin and disgrace were in that 
direction. Should he go forward? INIore than nine thousand patriot 
soldiers were in ihat direction. For General Lincoln had arrived with 
the militia of New England ; Washington had sent several detachments 



OPERATIONS OF 77. 



323 




SCENE OF BUKGpYNE'S 
INVASION, 1777. 



from the regular array; Morgan had come with his famous riflemen. 
Meauwhile, General Gates had superseded Schuyler in command of the 
northern carmy. On the 8tli of September the American headquarters 
were advanced to Stillwater. At Bemis's Heights, 
a short distance north of this place, a strong 
camp was laid out and fortified under direction 
of the noted Polish engineer Thaddeus Kos- 
ciusko. On the 14th of the month, Burgoyne 
crossed the Hudson and took post at Saratoga. 
Until the 18th he advanced his camp a mile each 
day, when the two armies were face to face and 
but two miles apart. On the afternoon of the 
19th the advance parties of the British attacked 
the American wings, and a general battle ensued, 
, continuing until nightfall. The conflict, though 
severe, was indecisive; the Americans retired 
within their lines, and the British slept under 
arms on the field. To the patriots, whose num- 
ber were constantly increasing, the result of the battle was equivalent 
to a victory. 

The condition of Burgoyne grew more and more critical. On all 
sides the lines of Gates were closing around him. His supplies failed ; 
his soldiers were put on partial rations ; his Canadian and Indian allies 
deserted his standard. But the British general was courageous and 
resolute; he strengthened his defences and flattered his men with the 
hope that General Clinton, who now commanded the British army in 
New York, would make a diversion in their favor. The latter did 
ascend the river as far as Forts Clinton and INIontgomery. Both tliese 
forts, after an obstinate defence, were carried by assault. Colonel Vaughan 
was sent on ^vith a thousand men as far as the town of Kingston, which 
Avas burned ; besides the destruction of stores and private property, nothing 
further was accomplished, and the condition of Burgoyne became des- 
perate. On the 7th of October he hazarded another battle, in Avhich he 
lost his bravest officers and nearly seven hundred privates. The conflict 
was terrible, lasting from two o'clock in the afternoon till twilight. At 
last Morgan's riflemen singled out the brave General Fraser, who com- 
manded the British right, and killed him. His disheartened men turned 
and fled from the field. On the American side, Arnold, who had re- 
signed his commission, rode at full speed to his old command, and, without 
authority, became the inspiring genius of the battle. He charged like a 
madman, drove the enemy before him, eluded Gates's aid who was sent to 



324 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

call him back, burst into the British camp and was severely wounded. 
The Americans were completely victorious. 

On the night after the battle Burgoyne led his shattered army to 
a stronger position. The Americans immediately occupied the abandoned 
camp, and then pressed after the fugitives ; for the British were already 
retreating. On the 9th of October Burgoyne reached Saratoga and 
attempted to escape to Fort Edward. But Gates and Lincoln now com- 
manded the river, and the proud Briton was hopelessly hemmed in. He 
held out to the last extremity, and finally, when there were only three 
days between his soldiers and starvation, was driven to surrendero On 
the 17th of October terms of capitulation were agreed on, and the whole 
army, numbering five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, became 
prisoners of war. Among the captives were six members of the British 
Parliament. A splendid train of brass artillery consisting of forty-two 
pieces, together with nearly five thousand muskets, and an immense 
quantity of ammunition and stores, was the further fruit of the victory. 
The valor of the patriots had fairly eclipsed the warlike renown of Great 
Britain. 

As soon as Burgoyne's invasion was at an end, a large portion of 
the victorious army of the North was despatched to the aid of Washing- 
ton. For, in the mean time, a great campaign had been in progress in 
the South ; and the patriots were sorely pressed. At the beginning of 
July, Howe had abandoned New Jersey. On the 23d of the same month 
he sailed with eighteen thousand men to attack Philadelphia by Avay of 
the Delaware. Washington, suspecting the object of the expedition, broke 
uji his camp and marched rapidly southward. Off the capes of Virginia 
Howe learned that the Americans had obstructed the Delaware, so as to 
prevent the passage of his fleet. He therefore determined to enter the 
Chesapeake, anchor at the head of the bay and make the attack by land. 
As soon as Washington obtained information of the enemy's plans, he 
advanced his headquarters from Philadelphia to Wilmington, and there 
the American army, numbering between eleven and twelve thousand 
men, was concentrated. The forces of Howe were vastly superior in 
numbers and equipments, but Washington hoped by selecting his ground 
and acting on the defensive to beat back the invaders and save the 
capital. 

On the 25th of August, the British landed at Elk Kiver, in Mary- 
land, and nine days afterward began their march toward Philadelphia. 
After a council of war and some changes in the arrangement of his forces, 
W^ashington selected the left bank of the Brandywine as his line of de- 
fence. The left wing of the American army was stationed at Chad's Ford 



OPERATIONS OF 77. 325 

to dispute the passage, while the right wing, under General Sullivan, w^as 
extended for three miles ujj the river. On the 11th of Sej)tember the 
British reached the opposite bank and began battle. What seemed to be 
their principal attack was made by the Hessians under Knyphausen at 
the ford ; and here Wayne's division held the enemy in check. But the 
onset of Knyphausen was only a feint to keep the Americans engaged 
until a stronger column of the British, led by Cornwallis and Howe, could 
march up the south bank of the Brandywine and cross at a point above 
the American right. In this w^ay Sullivan, who was not on the alert, 
allowed himself to be outflanked. Washington was misled by false in- 
formation ; the right wing, though the men under La Fayette and Stir- 
ling fought with great courage, was crushed in . by Cornwallis ; and the 
day was hopelessly lost. 

During the night the defeated patriots retreated to Westchester. 
Greene brought up the rear in good order ; through his efforts and those 
of the commander-in-chief the army was saved from destruction. The 
loss of the Americans in killed, wounded and missing amounted to fully 
a thousand men ; that of the British to five hundred and eighty-four. The 
gallant La Fayette was severely wounded ; Count Pulaski, a brave Pole 
who had espoused the patriot cause, so distinguished himself in this en- 
gagement that Congress honored him with the rank of brigadier and gave 
him command of the cavalry. On the day after the battle, Washington 
continued his retreat to Philadelphia, and then took post at Germantown, 
a few miles from the city. Undismayed by his reverse, he resolved to 
risk another engagement. Accordingly, on the loth of the month, he 
recrossed the Schuylkill and marched toward the British camp. Twenty 
miles below Philadelphia he met Howe at Warren's Tavern. For a 
while the two armies manoeuvred, the enemy gaining the better position ; 
then a spirited skirmish ensued, and a great battle was imminent. But 
just as the conflict was beginning a violent tempest of wind and rain 
swept over the field. The combatants were deluged, their cartridges 
soaked, and fighting made impossible. On the next day Howe marched 
down the Schuylkill ; Washington recrossed the river and confronted his 
antagonist. Howe turned suddenly about and hurried up stream along 
the right bank in the direction of Reading. Washington, fearing for his 
stores, pressed forward up the left bank to Pottstown. But the move- 
ment of the British westward was only feigned; again Howe wheeled, 
marched rapidly to the ford above ISTorristown, crossed the river and 
hastened to Philadelphia. On the 26th of September the city was entered 
without opposition, and the main division of the British army encamped 
at Germantown. 



326 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

At the approach of Howe, Congress adjourned to Lancaster. On 
the 27th of September the members met at that place, and again adjourned 
to York, where they assembled on the 30th and continued to hold their 
sessions until the British evacuated Philadelphia in the following summer. 
Washington now made his camp on Ski])pack Creek, about twenty miles 
from the city. As soon as Howe found himself safe in the " rebel cap- 
ital," as he was pleased to call it, he despatched a large division of his 
army to capture forts Mifflin and Mercer on the Delaware. Germantown 
was thus considerably weakened, and Washington resolved to attempt a 
a surprise. The same plan of attack which had been so successful at 
Trenton was again adojJted. On the night of the 3d of October the 
American army, arranged in several divisions, marched silently to^^•ard 
Germantown. The roads were rough, and the different columns reached 
the British outposts at irregular intervals. The morning was foggy, and 
the movements of both armies were unsteady and confused. There was 
much severe fighting, and at one time it seemed that the British would be 
overwhelmed ; but they gained possession of a large stone house and 
held it. A foolish attempt to dislodge them gave the enemy time to 
rally. Some sti'ong columns of Americans were kept out of the battle 
by the inefficiency of their commanders; the tide turned against the 
patriots, and the day was lost. Of the Americans a hundred and fifty- 
two Avere killed, five hundred and twenty-one wounded, and about four 
hundred missing. Howe reported the British loss at five hundred and 
thirty-five. The retreat of the Americans was covered by Greene and 
Pulaski. 

On the 22d of October Fort Mercer, on the New Jersey side of 
the Delaware, seven miles below Philadelphia, was assaulted by twelve 
hundred Hessians under Count Donop. The garrison, though number- 
ins: but four hundred, made a brave and successful resistance. The 
assault was like that at Bunker Hill. Count Donop received a mortal 
wound, and nearly four hundred of his men fell before the American 
entrenchments. At the same time the British fleet, assisted by a land- 
force from Philadelphia, attacked Fort Mifflin on Mud Island, in the 
•Delaware. Here also the assailants met with an obstinate resistance. 
The assault became a siege, which lasted till the 15th of November. The 
patriots held out against superior numbers until eveiy gun was dismounted 
and every palisade demolished. Then at midnight the ruined fortress 
was set on fire, and the garrison escaped to Fort Mercer. To make a 
second attack on this place Howe despatched two thousand men under 
Cornwallis. Washington sent General Greene to succor the fortress ; but 
Cornwallis was strongly reinforced, and the American general would not 



OPERATIONS OF 77. 



327 



hazard a battle. On the 20th of November Fort Mercer was abandoned 
to the British ; and thus General Howe obtained undisputed control of 
the Delaware. 

After the battle of Germantown Washington took up his head- 
quarters at Whitemarsh, twelve miles from Philadelphia. Winter was 
approaching, and the patriots began to suffer for food and clothing. 
Howe, knowing the distressed condition of the Americans, determined to 
surprise their camp. On the evening of the 2d of December he held a 
council of war, and it was decided to march against Washington on the 
followino; nitrht. But Lvdia Darrah, at whose house the council was 
held, overheard the plan of the enemies of her country. On the follow- 
ing morning she obtained a passport from Lord Howe, left the city on 
pretence of going to mill, rode rapidly to the American lines, and sent 
information of the impending attack to Washington. AVhen, on the 
morning of the 4th, the British approached Whitemarsh they found the 
cannon mounted and the patriots standing in order of battle. The British 
general manoeuvred for four days, and then marched back to Philadel- 
phia. During the remainder of the winter the city was occupied by 
nearly twenty thousand English and Hessian soldiers. There they 
reveled and rioted. Everything that the magazines of Great Britain 
could furnish was lavished upon the array of invaders who lay warmly 
housed in the city of Penn. In the patriot camp there M^as a diiferent 
scene. 

On the 11th of December Washington left his position at White- 
marsh and went into winter-quarters at Valley Forge on the right bank 
of the Schuylkill. The march thither occupied four days. Thousands 
of the soldiers were without shoes, and 
the frozen ground was marked with bloody 
footprints. The sagacity of Washington 
had pointed to a strong position for his 
encampment. To the security of the 
river and hills the additional security of 
redoubts and entrenchments was added. 
Log cabins were built for the soldiers, and 
everything was done that could be done 
to secure the comfort of the suffering pat- 
riots. But it was a long and dreary winter ; moaning and anguish were 
heard in the camp, and the echo fell heavy on the soul of the commander. 
These were the darkest days of Washington's life. Congress in a mea- 
sure abandoned him, the people withheld their sympathies. The brilliaot 
success of the army of the North was unjustly compared with the reverses 




ENCAMPMENT AT VALLEY FORGE, 

^77-8. 



828 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the army of the South. Many men high in military and civil station 
left the great leader unsupported in the hour of his grief; even Samuel 
Adams, impatient under calamity, withdrew his confidence. There was 
a miserable conspiracy headed by Gates, Conway and Mifflin. Washing- 
ton was to be superseded, and Gates or Lee was to be made commander- 
in-chief. But the alienation was only for a moment ; the allegiance of 
the army remained unshaken, and the nation's confidence in the troubled 
chieftain became stronger than ever. Still, at the close of 1777, the 
patriot cause was obscured with clouds and misfortune. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 



FOUR months before the declaration of independence, Silas Deane of 
Connecticut was appointed commissioner to France. His business 
at the French court was to act as the political and commercial agent of 
the United Colonies. His first service was to make a secret arrang-ement 
with Beaumarchais, a rich French merchant, by which the latter was to 
sujjply the Americans with the materials necessary for carrying on the war. 
The king of France and his prime minister, Vergennes, winked at this 
proceeding ; but the agents of Great Britain were jealous and suspicious, 
and it was not until the autumn of 1777 that a ship laden with two hun- 
dred thousand dollars' worth of arms, ammunition and specie could be 
sent to America. In that ship came Baron Steuben, a veteran soldier and 
disciplinarian from the army of Frederic the Great. Arriving at Ports- 
mouth, the baron tarried a short time in New England, and then repaired 
to York, where Congress was in session. From that body he received a 
commission, and at once joined Washington at Valley Forge. His acces- 
sion to the American army was an event of great importance. He re- 
ceived the appointment of inspector-general ; and from the day in which 
he entered upon the discharge of his duties there was a marked improve- 
ment in the condition and discipline of the soldiers. The American reg- 
ulars were never again beaten when confronted by the British in equal 
numbers. 

In November of 1776 Arthur Lee and Benjamin Franklin were 
appointed by Congress to negotiate an open treaty of friendship and com- 



FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 329 

merce with the French king. In the following month they reached Paris 
and began their conferences with A'^ero-ennes. For a long; time Kino* 
Louis and his minister Mere Avary of the proposed alliance. They cor- 
dially hated Great Britain, they rejoiced that the British empire Avas about 
to be dismembered, they gave secret encouragement to the colonies to hold 
out in their rebellion, they loaned money and shipped arms to America ; 
but an open alliance was equivalent to a war with England, and that the 
French court dreaded. 

Now it was that the genius of Dr. Franklin shone with a peculiar 
lustre. At the gay court of Louis XVI. he stood as the representative 
of his country. No nation ever had an ambassador of greater wisdom 
and sagacity. His reputation for learning had preceded him ; the dignity 
of his demeanor and the simplicity of his manners added to his fame. 
Whether as philosopher or diplomatist, no man in that great city of fashion 
was the equal of the venerable American patriot. His wit and genial 
liuraor made him admired ; his talents and courtesy commanded respect ; 
his patience ^d perseverance gave him final success. During the whole 
of 1777 he remained at Paris and Versailles, availing himself of every 
ojiportunity to promote the interests of his country. At last came the 
news of Burgoyne's surrender. A powerful British army had been sub- 
dued by the colonists without aid from abroad. The success of the Amer- 
ican arms and the prospect of commercial advantage decided the wavering 
policy of the king, and in the beginning of winter he made an announce- 
ment of his determination to accept an alliance with the colonies. On the 
6th of February, 1778, a treaty was concluded ; France acknowledged the 
independence of the United States and entered into relations of reciprocal 
friendship with the new nation. It was further stipulated that in case 
England should declare war against France, the Americans and the 
French should make common cause, and that neither should subscribe to 
a treaty of peace without the concurrence of the other. In America the 
news of the new alliance was received with great rejoicing ; in England, 
with vindictive anger. 

Benjamin Franklin, the author of the first treaty between the 
United States and a foreign nation, was born in Boston on the 17th of 
January, 1706. His father was a manufacturer of soap and candles. 
To this humble vocation the young Benjamin was devoted by his parents; 
but the walls of a candle-shop were too narrow for liis aspiring genius. 
At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to his brother to learn the art of 
printing ; but the brother beat him, and he ran off to New York. There 
he found no employment. In 1723 he repaired to Philadelj^hia, entered 
a printing-office, and rose to distinction. He visited England ; returned ; 



330 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



founded the first circulating library in America ; became a man of science ; 
edited Poo'r IiicharcVs Ahnanac ; originated the American Philosophical 

Society ; discovered the 
identity of electricity 
and lightning; made 
himself known in both 
hemispheres; espoused 
the cause of the pat- 
riots ; and devoted the 
nnimjDaired energies of 
his old age to per- 
fecting the American 
Union. The name of 
Franklin is one of the 
brightest in the history 
of any nation. 

in May of 1778 
Congress ratified the 
treaty with Franco. A 
month before this time 
a French fleet, corn- 
man ded by Count 
d'Estaing, had been 
despatched to Amer- 
ica. The object was 
to sail into the Del- 
aware and blockade the British squadron at Philadelphia. Both France 
and Great Britain understood full well that war was inevitable, and each 
immediately prepared for the conflict. George III. now became willing 
to treat with his American subjects. Lord North, the prime minister, 
brought forward two bills in which everything that the colonists had 
claimed was conceded. The bills were passed by Parliament, and the 
king assented. Commissioners Avere sent to America; but Congress in- 
formed them that nothing but an express acknowledgment of the inde- 
pendence of the United States would now be accepted. Then the com- 
missioners tried bribery and intrigue ; and Congress would hold no further 
conference with them. 

From September of 1777 until the following June the British army 
remained at Philadelphia. The fleet of Admiral How^e lay in the Del- 
aware. In the spring of 1778, General Howe was superseded by Sir 
Henry Clinton. When the rumor came that the fleet of D'Estaing was 




BENJAMIN FKANKLIN. 



FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 331 

approaching, the English admiral withdrew from the Delaware and sailed 
for New York. Finally, on the 18th of Jmie, the British army evacuated 
Philadelphia and retreated across New Jersey. Washington occupied the 
city, crossed the river, and followed the retreating foe. At Monmouth, 
eighteen miles south-east of New Brunswick, the British were overtaken. 
On the morning of the 28th General Lee was ordered to attack the enemy. 
The first onset Mas made by the American cavalry under La Fayette ; 
but they were driven back by Cornwallis and Clinton. Lee, who had 
opposed the battle, and was not anxious for victory, ordered his line to 
fall back to a stronger position ; but the troops mistook the order and 
began a retreat, the British charging after them. Washington met the 
fugitives, rallied them, administered a severe rebuke to Lee, and ordered 
him to the rear. During the rest of the engagement the haughty officer, 
half treacherous in his principles and practices, remained at a distance, 
making satirical remarks about the battle. The fight continued till night- 
fall; the advantage was with the Americans; and Washington, in hope 
of a complete victory, anxiously waited for the morning. During the 
niglit, however, Clinton succeeded in withdrawing his forces from the 
field, and thus escaped the peril of defeat. 

The loss of the Americans in the battle of Monmouth was sixty- 
seven killed and a hundred and sixty wounded. The British left nearly 
three hundred dead on the field. On the day after the battle Washington 
received an insulting letter from Lee demanding an apology for the lan- 
guage which the commander-in-chief had used, Washington replied that 
the lano;uao;e was warranted bv the circumstances. This Lee answered 
in a still more offensive manner, and was thereujjon arrested, tried by a 
court-martial, and dismissed from his command for twelve months. The 
brave, rash man never re-entered the service, and did not live to see his 
country's independence. 

The British land and naval forces were now concentrated at New* 
York. Washington followed, crossed the Hudson, and took up his head- 
quarters at White Plains. On the 11th of July Count d'Estaing's fleet 
arrived off Sandy Hook and attempted to attack the British squadron in 
the bay ; but the bar at the entrance prevented the passage of the French 
vessels. D'Estaing next sailed for Newport, Rhode Island, where the 
British, commanded by General Pigot, were in strong force. At the same 
time a division of the American army, led by General Sullivan, proceeded 
to Providence to co-operate with the French fleet in the attack on New- 
port. Greene and La Fayette came with reinforcements, and the whole 
army took post at Tiverton. On the 9th of August Sullivan succeeded 
in crossing the eastern passage of the bay, and secured a favorable position 



332 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

on the island. A joint attack by land and sea was planned for the fol- 
lowing day. On that morning, however, the fleet of Lord Howe, Mho 
had left New York in pursuit of the French, came in sight ; and D'Estaing, 
instead of beginning the bombardment of I\ewport, sailed out to give 
battle to Howe. Just as the two squadrons were about to begin an en- 
gagement a violent storm arose by which the fleets were parted and 
greatly damaged. D'Estaing repaired to Boston, and Howe returned to 
New York. 

Sullivan laid siege to Newport; but when the French squadron 
sailed away, he found it necessary to retreat. The British pursued the 
Americans, and overtook them in the northern part of the island ; a battle 
ensued, and Pigot was repulsed with a loss of two hundred and sixty 
men. On the following night Sullivan succeeded in reaching the main- 
land ; and it was well that he did so ; for on the next day General Clin- 
ton arrived at Newport with a division of four thousand regulars. The 
Americans saved themselves by hastily retiring from the neighborhood. 
Clinton, having sent out a detachment under Colonel Grey to burn the 
American shipping in Buzzard's Bay, destroy the stores in New Bedford 
and ravage INIartha's Vineyard, returned to New York. 

The command of the British naval forces in America was now 
transferred from Lord Howe to Admiral Byron. Sir Henry Clinton, 
unable to accomplish anything in honorable warfare, descended to maraud- 
ing and robbery. Early in October a band of incendiaries, led by Fer- 
guson, burned the American ships at Little Egg Harbor. For several 
miles inland the country was devastated, houses pillaged, barns burned, 
patriots murdered. To the preceding July belongs the sad story of the 
Wyoming massacre. Major John Butler, a tory of Niagara, raised a 
company of sixteen hundred loyalists, Canadians and Indians, and marched 
into the valley of Wyoming, county of Luzerne, Pennsylvania. The 
'settlement was defenceless. The fathers and brothers were away in the 
patriot army. There Avere some feeble forts on the Susquehanna in the 
neighborhood of Wilkesbarre, but they were useless without defenders. 
On the approach of the tories and savages the few militia remaining in 
the valley, together with the old men and boys, rallied for the defence of 
their homes. A battle Avas fought, and the poor patriots were utterly 
routed. The fugitives fled to the principal fort, which was crowded 
with women and children. On came the murderous horde, and demanded 
a surrender. Honorable terms were promised by Butler, and the garrison 
capitulated. On the 5th of July the gates were opened, and the bar- 
barians entered. Immediately they began to plunder, then to burn, and 
then to use the hatchet and the scalping-knife. There is no authentic 



FRANCE TO THE RESCUE. 333 

record of the horrible atrocities that followed. The savages divided 
into parties, scattered through the valley, plundered, robbed, burned, and 
drove almost every surviving family into the swamps or mountains. lu 
this way George III. would subdue the American colonies. 

November witnessed a similar massacre at the village of Cherry 
Valley, Otsego county, New York. This time the invaders were led by 
Joseph Brant, the JNIohawk sachem, and Walter Butler, a son of Major 
John Butler. The people of Cherry Valley were driven from their 
homes ; every house in the village was burned ; women and children were 
tomahawked and scalped ; and forty miserable sufferers dragged into cap- 
tivity. To avenge these outrages an expedition was sent against the 
savages on the Upper Susquehanna ; and they in turn Avere made to feel 
the terrors of war. In the preceding December the famous JMajor Clarke 
had received from Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, a commis- 
sion to proceed against the Indians west of the Alleghanies. The expe- 
dition left Pittsburg in the spring of 1778 ; descended to the mouth of the 
Ohio ; and on the 4th of the following July captured Kaskaskia. Other 
important posts were taken ; and in August Vincennes was forced to 
capitulate. 

On the 3d of November Count d'Estaing's flest sailed from Boston 
for the West Indies. In December Admiral Byron, in command of the 
British squadron, left New York to try the fortunes of war on the ocean. 
A few days previously, Colonel Campbell, with a force of two thousand 
men, was sent by General Clinton for the conquest of Georgia. On the 
29th of December the expedition reached Savannah. The place was de- 
fended by General Robert Howe with , a regiment of five hundred and 
fifty regulars, and three hundred militia. Notwithstanding the superior 
numbers of the British, Howe determined to risk a battle ; but the result 
was disastrous. The Americans Avere routed and driven out of the city. 
Escaping up the river, the defeated patriots crossed into South Carolina 
and found refuge at Charleston. Such was the only real conquest made 
by the British during the year 1778. It was now nearly four years since 
the battle of Concord, and Great Britain had lost vastly more than she 
had gained in her struggle with the colonies. The city of New York was 
held by Clinton ; Newport was garrisoned by a division under Pigot; the 
feeble capital of Georgia was conquered ; all the rest remained to the 
patriots. 



334 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

MOVEMENTS OF '79. 

THE winter of 1778-79 was passed by the American army at Middle- 
brook, ISIew Jersey. With the opening of spring there was much 
discouragement among the soldiers ; for they were neither paid nor fed. 
Only the personal influence of Washington and the patriotism of the 
camp prevented a mutiny. Clinton opened the campaign with a number 
of predatory incursions into the surrounding country. In February, 
Tryon, the old tory governor of New York, a man so savage in his nature 
that the Indians called him the Big Wolf, marched from Kingsbridge 
Avith a body of fifteen hundred regulars and tories to destroy the salt- 
works at Horse Neck, Connecticut. General Putnam, who chanced to 
be in that neighborhood, rallied the militia and made a brave defence. 
The Americans planted some cannon on the brow of a hill and fought 
with much spirit until they were outflanlvcd by the British and obliged to 
fly. It was here that General Putnam, pursued and about to be over- 
taken by a party of dtagoons, turned out of the road, spurred his horse 
down a precipice and escaped.* Tryon destroyed the salt-works, plun- 
dered and burned the village of West Greenwich and returned to Kings- 
bridge. 

In the latter ])art of May Clinton himself sailed with an armament 
up the Hudson to Stony Point. This strong position, commanding the 
river, had been chosen by Washington as the site of a fort ; the Amer- 
icans were engaged upon the unfinished works when Clinton's squadron 
came in sight. The feeble garrison, unable to resist the overwhelming 
numbers of the enemy, escaped from the fortifications. On the 1st of 
June the British entered, mounted cannon and began to bombard Ycr- 
planck's Point, on the other side of the river. Here the patriots made a 
brave resistance ; but the British landed a strong force, surrounded the 
fort and compelled a surrender. Both Verplanck's and Stony Point were 
strongly fortified and garrisoned by the enemy. About the same time 
Virginia suffered from an incursion of the tories. A vast amount of 
public and private property was destroyed ; and several towns, including 
Norfolk and Portsmouth, were laid in ashes. 

* After all, Putnam's exploit was not so marvelous. In 1825 some of General La 
Fayette's dragoons rode down the same hill for sport. 



MOVEMENTS OF 79. 335 

In July the ferocious Trvon again distinguislied himself. With a 
force of twenty-six hundred Hessians and tories he sailed to New Haven, 
captured the city and would have burned it but for fear of the gathering 
militia. Having set East Haven on fire, the destroyers sailed down the 
Sound to the beautiful town of Fairfield, which was given to the flames. 
At Norwalk, while the village was burning and the terrified people flying 
from their homes, Tryon, on a neighboring liill, sat in a rocking-chair 
and laughed heartily at the scene. It was not long until these dastardly 
outrages were made to appear more dastardly by contrast with a heroic 
exploit of the patriots. 

Early in July General Wayne received orders to attempt the recap- 
ture of Stony Point. On the 15th of the month he mustered a force of 
light infantry at a convenient point on the Hudson and marched against 
the seemingly impregnable fortress. The movement was not discovered 
by the enemy. At eight o'clock in the evening Wayne halted a mile 
from the fort and gave orders for the assault. A negro who had learned 
the countersign went with the advance; the British pickets were deceived, 
caught and gagged. The Americans advanced in two columns, the first 
led by Wayne, and the second by the gallant Frenchman, Colonel De 
Fleury. Everytliing was done in silence. Muskets were unloaded and 
bayonets fixed ; not a gun was to be fired. Tlie two divisions, attacking 
from opposite sides, were to meet in the middle of the fort. The assault 
was made a little after midnight. Within pistol-shot of the sentinels on 
the height, the Americans were discovered. There was the cry, To arms! 
the rattle of drums, and then the roar of musketry and cannon. The 
patriots never wavered. The ramparts were scaled ; and tlic British, find- 
ing themselves between two closing lines of bayonets, cried out for quar- 
ter. Sixty-three of the enemy fell in the struggle; the remaining five 
hundred and forty-three were made prisoners. Of the Americans only 
fifteen were killed and eighty-three wounded. In the days that followed 
the assault Wayne secured the ordnance and stores, valued at more than 
a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, then destroyed the fort and marched 
away. On the 20th a division of the British army, arriving at Stony 
Point, found nothing but a desolated hill. In honor of his brave deed 
General Wayne received a gold medal from Congress. 

Three days after the taking of Stony Point, ]\Tajor Lee with a com- 
]iany of militia attacked the British garrison at Jersey City. Again the 
assault was successful, the enemy losing nearly two hundred men. On 
the 25th of the same month a fleet of thirty-seven vessels, which had 
been equipped by Massachusetts, was sent against a British post recently 
established at the mouth of the Penobscot. The enterprise, liowever, was 



336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

managed with little skill and less success. On the 13th of August, while 
the American ships were still besieging the post, they were suddenly 
attacked and destroyed by a British fleet. In the summer of this year 
an army of four thousand six hundred men, commanded by Generals Sul- 
livan and James Clinton, was sent against the Indians of the Upper Sus- 
quehanna. The atrocities of Wyoming were now fully avenged, and the 
savages driven to destruction. At Elmira, on the Tioga River, the In- 
dians and tories had fortified themselves ; but on the 29th of August they 
were forced from their stronghold and utterly routed. The whole coun- 
try between the Susquehanna and the Genesee was wasted by the ])atriots, 
who, in the course of the campaign, destroyed forty Indian villages. In 
the latter part of October Sir Henry Clinton, alarmed by the rumored 
approach of .the French fleet, withdrew the British forces from Rhode 
Island. The retirement from Newport was made with so much haste that 
the heavy guns and large quantities of stores were left behind. Such 
were the leading military movements in the North. 

Meanwhile, the war had continued in Georgia and South Carolina ; 
and the patriots had met with many reverses. At the beginning of the 
year Fort Sunbury, on St. Catherine's Sound, was the only post held by 
the Americans south of the Savannah. On the 9th of -January this fort 
was captured by a body of British troops from Florida, led by General 
Prevost. This officer then joined his forces with those of Colonel Camp- 
bell, M'ho had just effected the conquest of Savannah, and assumed com- 
mand of the British army in the South. A force of two thousand reg- 
ulars and loyalists, commanded by Campbell, was at once despatched 
against Augusta ; for there the republican legislature had assembled after 
the fall of Savannah. On the 29th of January the British reached their 
destination, and Augusta fell a prey to the invaders. For a while the 
whole of Georgia was prostrated before the king's soldiery. 

In the mean time, the tories of Western Carolina had risen in arms 
and were advancing to join the forces of Campbell at Augusta. While 
marchino; thither thev were attacked and defeated in a canebrake bv 
the patriots under Captain Anderson. On tlie 14th of February the tories 
were again overtaken in the country west of Broad River. Colonel 
Pickens, at the head of the Carolina militia, fell upon them with such 
fury that the whole force was annihilated. Colonel Boyd, the tory leader, 
and seventy of his men were killed. Seventy-five others were captured, 
tried for treason and condemned to death ; but only five of the ringleaders 
were hanged. On receiving intelligence of what had happened, Campbell 
hastily evacuated Augusta and retreated toward Savannah. The western 
half of Georgia was recovered more quickly than it had been lost. 



MOVEMENTS OF 79. 337 

"While the British were retreating clown the river, General Lincoln, 
who now commanded the American forces in the South, sent General 
Ashe with a division of two thousand men to intercept the enemy. On 
the 25th of February the Americans crossed the Savannah and pursued 
Campbell as far as Brier Creek, forty-five miles below Augusta. The 
bridge over this stream had been destroyed by the retreating British, and 
the patriots came to a halt. While they were delayed General Prevost 
marched with a strong force from Savannah, crossed Brier Creek above 
the American position, and completely surrounded General Ashe's com- 
mand. A battle was fought on the 3d of March ; the Americans, after 
losing more than three hundred men in killed, wounded and prisoners, 
were totally routed and driven into the swamps and river. The rem- 
nants of Ashe's army rejoined General Lincoln at Perrysburg. The shock 
of this defeat again prostrated Georgia, and a royal government was 
established over the State. 

But the Carolinians rallied with great vigor. Within a month Gen- 
eral Lincoln was again in the field with a force of more than five thou- 
sand men. Still hoping to reconquer Georgia, he advanced up the left 
bank of the river in the direction of Augusta ; but at the same time Gen- 
eral Prevost crossed the Savannah and marched against Charleston. On 
the 12th of May he summoned the city to surrender, but General Moultrie, 
who commanded the patriots, was in no humor to do it. Prevost made 
preparations for a siege ; but learning that General Lincoln had turned 
back to attack him, he made a hasty retreat. The Americans pursued, 
overtook the enemy at Stono Ferry, ten miles west of Charleston, made 
an imprudent attack and were repulsed with considerable loss. Before 
retiring from the State, Prevost succeeded in establishing a post at Beau- 
fort, and then fell back to Savannah. From June until September 
military operations were almost wholly suspended. 

And now came Count d'Estaing with his fleet from the West Indies 
to Carolina to co-operate with General Lincoln in the reduction of 
Savannah. Prevost was alarmed, and concentrated his forces for the 
defence of the city. The storm-winds of the equinox were approaching, 
and D'Estaing stipulated with the Americans that his fleet should not be 
long detained on that coast devoid of harbore. On the 12tli of September 
the French, numbering six thousand, effected a landing, and advanced to 
the siege. Eleven days elapsed before the slow-moving General Lincoln 
arrived with his forces. Meanwhile, on the 16th of the month, D'Estaing 
had demanded a surrender ; but Prevost, who asked a day for consulta- 
tion and used it in strengthening his works and in receiving reinforce- 
ments from Beaufort, answered with a message of defiance. After Lin- 



338 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

coin's arrival the siege was prosecuted with great vigor. The city was 
bombarded wellnigh to destruction; the people were driven into the 
cellars, and dared not venture forth on peril of their lives. But the 
British defences remained unshaken. At last the impatient D'Estaing 
notified Lincoln that the city must be stormed or the siege abandoned. 
The former course Avas preferred. On the 8 th of October a conferenr'e 
was held, and it was determined to make the assault at daylight on the 
following morning. 

Accordingly, an hour before sunrise the allies advanced against the 
redoubts of the British. The attack was made irregularly, but with great 
vehemence; the defence, with desperate determination. The struggle 
around the ramparts was brief but furious. At one time it seemed that 
the M'orks would be carried. The French and the patriots mounted the 
parapet and planted the flags of Carolina a,nd France. But the emblems 
of victory, with those who bore them, were hurled into the dust. Here 
the brave Sergeant Jasper, the hero of Fort Moultrie, fell to rise no more. 
After an hour of the most gallant fighting, the allied columns were shat- 
tered and driven back with fearful losses. D'Estaing was twice wounded. 
The noble Pulaski was struck with a grape-shot and borne dying from the 
field. The repulse was complete, humiliating, disastrous. D'Estaing re- 
tired with his men on board the fleet and sailed for France. Lincoln 
with the renniants of his army retreated to Charleston. 

While the siege of Savannah was progressing, the American arms 
were made famous on the ocean. On the 23d of September Paul Jones, 
cruisino- oiF the coast of Scotland with a flotilla of French and American 
vessels, fell in with a fleet of British merchantmen, convoyed by two 
men-of-war. The battle that ensued was bloody beyond precedent in 
naval Avarfare. For an hour and a half the Serajjis, a British frigate of 
forty-four guns, engaged the Poor Richard''' within musket-shot. Then 
the vessels, both in a sinking condition, were run alongside and lashed 
together. The marines fought with the furv of madmen until the Scrapls 
struck her colors. Jones hastily transferred his men to the conquered 
ship, and the Fooi^ Richard went down. The remaining British vessel 
was also attacked and captured. So desperate was the engagement that of 
the three hundred and seventy-five men on board the fleet of Jones three 
hundred were either killed or wounded. 

So closed the year 1779. The colonies were not yet free. The 
French alliance, which had promised so much, had brought but little 
benefit. The credit of Congress had sunk almost to nothing ; the national 
treasury was bankrupt. The patriots of the army were poorly fed, and 

* So named in honor of Dr. Franklin's almanac. 



REVERSES AND TREASON. 339 

paitl only with unkept promises. The disposition of Great Britain was 
best illustrated in the measures adopted by Parliament for the campaigns 
of the ensuing year. The levies made by the House of Commons were 
eighty-five thousand marines and thirty-five thousand additional troops ; 
while the extraordinary expenses of the War Department were set at 
twenty million pounds sterling. 



CHAPTER XLIII. 
REVERSES AND TREASON. 



DURING the year 1780 military operations at the North were, for the 
most part, suspended. Twice did the British under Knyphausen 
advance from New York into New Jersey ; and twice they were driven 
back. Early in July Admiral De Teruay arrived at Newport with a 
French squadron and six thousand land-troops under Count Rocham- 
beau. The Americans were greatly elated at the coming of their allies ; 
but Washington's army was in so destitute a condition that active co- 
operation was impracticable. In September the commander-in-chief held 
a conference with Rochambeau, and the plans of future campaigns were in 
part determined. 

In the South there Avas much activity, and the patriots suffered many 
reverses. South Carolina was completely overrun with the invading 
armies. On the 11th of February Admiral Arbuthnot, in command of a 
British squadron, anchored before Charleston. Sir Henry Clinton and a 
division of five thousand men from the army in New York were on board 
the fleet. The plan of the campaign was to subjugate the whole South, 
beginning with Charleston. The city was defended by fourteen hundred 
men, under General Lincoln, who began his preparations by fortifying 
the neck of the peninsula. The British effected a landing a few miles 
be^ow the harbor, advanced up the right bank of Ashley River, and 
crossed to the north of the city. A month Avas spent by Clinton in mak- 
ing cautious approaches toward the American entrenchments. On the 
7th of April General Lincoln was reinforced by seven hundred veterans 
from Virginia. Two days afterward Admiral Arbuthnot, favored by the 
wind and tide, succeeded in passing Fort Moultrie with his fleet, and 
anchored within cannon-shot of the city. A summons to surrender was 




340 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

answered by Lincoln Mitli the assurance that Charleston would be 
defended to the last extremity. 

A siege was .it once begun, and i:>rosecuted with great vigor. Desir- 
ing to keep a Avay open for retreat, Lincoln sent a body of three hundred 
men under General Huger to scour the country 
north of Cooper Eiver and rally the militia. 
Apprised of this movement, Tarleton with a 
legion of British cavalry stole upon Huger's 
forces at Monk's Corner, thirty miles north of 
Charleston, routed and dispersed the whole com- 
pany. The city was now fairly hemmed in, and 
the thunder of two hundred cannon shook the 
beleaguered ramparts. From the beginning the 
siKGE OF CHARLESTON, 17S0. defcncc had been hopeless, and every day the 
condition of the tovrn l)eeame more desperate. 
Finally the fortifications were beaten down, and Clinton made ready to 
storm the American works; not till then did Lincoln and the civil 
authorities, dreading the havoc of an assault, agree to capitulate. On the 
12th of May the principal city of the South was given up to the British, 
and the men who had so bravely defended it became prisoners of war. 

A few days before the surrender Tarleton, who was ranging the 
country to the north and Avest, surprised and dispersed a body of militia 
who had gathered on the Santee. After the capture of the city, three 
expeditions were directed into different sections of the State. The Amer- 
ican post at Xinety-Six, a hundred and fifty miles north-west of the cap- 
ital, Avas seized. A second detachment of the British invaded the country 
bordering on the Savannah, Cornwallis with the principal division 
marched to the north-east, crossed the Santee and captured Georgetown, 
near the mouth of the Great Pedee. Here he learned that Colonel Buford, 
with a body of five hundred patriots, who had left North Carolina for 
the relief of Charleston, Avas now retreating through the district north of 
Camden. Tarleton with seven hundi-ed cavalry pressed rapidly across 
the country, overtook the Americans on the Waxhaw, a tributary of the 
Catawba, surprised them, and, while negotiations for a surrender were 
pending, charged upon and massacred nearly the whole company. For 
this atrocious deed Cornwallis commended Tarleton to the special favor 
of the British Parliament. 

By such means the authority of Great Britain was re-established 
over South Carolina. As soon as the work was done, Clinton and 
Arl)uthnot, with about half of the British ai'my, sailed for New York. 
Cornwallis was left with the remainder to hold the conquered territory; 



REVERSES AND TREASON. 341 

for it was the territory, and not the people, who were conquered. In tliis 
condition of aifairs, two daring patriot leaders arose to rescue the repub- 
lican cause. These men, ever afterward famous, were Thomas Sumter 
and Francis Marion. Under their leadership the militia in the central 
and western portions of the State, especially on the upper tributaries of 
Broad River, were rallied, aftned and mounted. An audacious partisan 
warfare was begun, and exposed detachments of the British army Mere 
swept off as though an enemy had fallen on them from the skies. At 
Rocky INIount, on the Wateree, Colonel Sumter burst upon a party of 
dragoons, who barely saved themselves. On the Otli of August he attacked 
a large detachment of regulars and tories at Hanging Rock, in Lancaster 
county, defeated them and retreated. It was in this battle that young 
Andrew Jackson began his career as a soldier. 

The exploits of Sumter were even surpassed by those of Marion. 
His company consisted at first of twenty men and boys, white and black, 
half clad and poorly armed. But the number constantly increased, and 
the "Ragged Regiment" soon became a terror to the enemy. Every 
British outpost was in peril. There was no telling when or where the 
sword of the fearless leader would fall. From the swamps at midnight he 
and his men would suddenly dart upon the encampments of the enemy, 
sweeping everything before them. When the British expected Marion 
in front, he would assail the rearguard with the utmost fury, and then dis- 
appear ; when they thought him hovering on their flank, he was a hun- 
dred miles away. During the whole summer and autumn of 1780 lie 
swept around Cornwallis's positions, cutting his lines of communication 
and making incessant onsets with an audacity as destructive as it was pro- 
voking. In the midst of this wild and lawless warfare, Marion preserved 
an unblemished reputation. Fifteen years afterward, when he lay on his 
deathbed, he declared that he had never intentionally wronged any man ; 
and it was truthfully written on his monument that he lived without fear 
and died without reproach. 

After the fall of Charleston, General Gates was appointed to com- 
mand in the South. With a strong force of regulars and such militia as 
would join his standard, he advanced across North Carolina, and at the 
beginning of August reached the southern boundary of the State. Lord 
Rawdon, who commanded the British posts in the northern parts of South 
Carolina, called in his detachments and concentrated his forces at Camden. 
Hither came also CornwalHs with reinforcements from Charleston and 
Georgetown. The Americans moved forward and took post at Clermont, 
thirteen miles north-west from Camden. By a singular coincidence Corn- 
wallis and Gates each formed the design of surprising his antagonist in 



342 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




the night. Accordingly, on the evening of the 15th of August, Gates set 
out for Camden, and at the same time Cornwallis moved toward Cler- 
mont. About daydawn the two armies met midway on Sander's Creek. 

Both generals were surprised, 
but both made immediate 
preparations for battle. As 
soon as it was light the con- 
flict began. Steadiness and 
courage in all parts of the 
field would have given the 
victory to the Americans, but 
at the first onset the Virginia 
and Carolina militia broke 
line, threw their arms away 
and fled. For a while the 
Continentals of Maryland 
and Delaware sustained the 
battle with great bravery, but 
at length they were outflank- 
ed by Webster's cavalry and 
driven back. The American 
officers made heroic efforts to 
save the day, but all in vain ; the retreat became a rout. Baron de Kalb, 
the friend of La Fayette and fellow-sufferer with Washington at Valley 
Forge, remained on the field trying to rally his men until he was wounded 
eleven times and fell in the agony of death. More than a thousand of the 
Americans were killed, wounded or captured. The shattered remnants 
continued the retreat to Charlotte, North Carolina, eighty miles distant. 
The military reputation of Gates, which never had any solid foundation, 
was blown away like chaffs, and he was superseded by General Greene, 
who, after Washington, was the best officer of the Revolution. 

Cornwallis was again master of South Carolina. A few days after 
the battle of Sander's Creek, Sumter's corps was overtaken by Tarleton 
at Fishing Creek, thirty miles north-west from Camden, and completely 
routed. Only Marion and his troopers remained to harass the victorious 
enemy. The triumph of the British was marked by cruelty and oppres- 
sion. Cornwallis visited the patriots with merciless severity, and the 
ruined State crouched at the feet of the conqueror. On the 8th of Sep- 
tember the British advanced from Camden into North Carolina, and on 
the 25th reached Charlotte, the Americans having retreated to Salisbury. 
While this movement was in progress, Colonel Ferguson, with a force of 



SCENE OP OPEKATIONS IN THE SOUTH, 1780, HL 



REVERSES AND TREASON. 343 

eleven hundred regulars and tories, was sent into the country west of the 
Catawba to overawe the ]xitriots and encourage the loyalists to take up 
arms. On the 7th of October, while Ferguson and his men were en- 
camped on the top of King's Mountain, they were suddenly attacked by 
a thousand riflemen led by Colonel Campbell. The camp was surrounded; 
a desperate battle of an hour and a half ensued ; Ferguson was slain, and 
three hundred of his men were killed or wounded ; the remaining eight 
hundred threw down their arms and begged for quarter. On the morn- 
ing after the battle ten of the leading tory prisoners were condemned by a 
court-martial and hanged. During the remaining two months of the year 
there were no military movements of importance. Georgia and South 
Carolina were in the power of the British, and North Carolina was invaded. 

Meanwhile, the financial credit of the nation was sinking to the 
lowest ebb. Congress, having no silver and gold with which to meet the 
accumulating expenses of the war, had resorted to paper money. At first 
the expedient M'as successful, and the continental bills were received at 
par ; but ?s one issue followed another, the value of the notes rapidly 
diminished, until, by the middle of 1780, they M-ere not worth two cents 
to the dollar. To aggravate the evil, the emissaries of Great Britain 
executed counterfeits of the congressional money and sowed the spurious 
bills broadcast over the land. Business was paralyzed for the want of a 
currency, and the distress became extreme ; but Robert IMorris and a few 
other wealthy patriots came forward with their private fortunes and saved 
the suifering colonies from ruin. The mothers of America also lent a 
helping hand ; and the patriot camp was gladdened with many a contribu- 
tion of food and clothing which woman's sacrificing care had j)rovided. 

In the midst of the general gloom the country was shocked by the 
rumor that Benedict Arnold had turned traitor. And the news, though 
hardly credible, was true. The brave, rash man, who, on behalf of the 
patriot cause, had suffered untold hardships and shed his blood on more 
fields than one, had blotted the record of his heroism with a deed of 
treason. After the battle of Bemis's Height, in the fall of 1777, Arnold 
was promoted by Congress to the rank of major-general. Being disabled 
by his wound, he was made commandant of Philadelphia after the evac- 
uation of the city by the British. Here he married the daughter of a 
loyalist, and living in the old mansion of "William Penn entered upon a 
career of luxury and extravagance which soon overwhelmed him with 
debt and bankruptcy. In order to keep up his magnificence, he began a 
system of frauds on the commissary department of the army. His bear- 
ing toward the citizens was that of a military despot ; the people groaned 
under his tyranny, and charges were preferred against him by Congress. 



344 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The cause was finally heard by a court-martial in December of 1779. 
Arnold was convicted on two of the charges, and, by the order of the 
courtj was mildly reprimanded by Washington. 

Professing unbounded patriotism, and seeming to forget the dis- 
grace which his misconduct had brought upon him, Arnold applied for 
and obtained commaild of the important fortress of West Point on the 
Hudson. On the last day of July, 1780, he reached the camp and 
assumed control of the most valuable arsenal and depot of stores in Amer- 
ica. He had already formed the treasonable design of surrendering the 
fort into the hands of the enemy. For months he had kept up a secret 
correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, and now the scheme ripened, on 
Arnold's part, into an open proposition to betray his country for gold. 
It was agreed that on a certain day the British fleet should ascend the 
Hudson, that the garrison should be divided and scattered, and the fort- 
ress given up without a struggle. 

On the 21st of September Sir Henry Clinton sent Major John 
Andr^ up the river to hold a personal conference with Arnold and make 

the final arrangements for the surrender. 
Andre, through whom the correspondence 
between Arnold and Clinton had been car- 
ried on, was a former acquaintance of Ar- 
nold's wife, and now held the post of adju- 
tant-general in the British army. He went 
to the conference, not as a spy, but wearing 
full uniform ; and it was agreed that the 
meeting should be held outside of the Ameri- 
can lines. About midnight of the 21st he 
went ashore from the Vulture, a sloop of 
war, and met Arnold in a thicket on the 
west bank of the river, two miles below 
Haverstraw. Daydawn approached, and 
the conspirators were obliged to hide 
themselves. In doing so they entered the 
American lines ; Arnold gave the password, and Andre, disguising him- 
self, assumed the character of a spy. 

During the next day the traitor and his victim remained concealed 
at the house of a tory named Smith. Here the awful business was com- 
pleted. Arnold was to surrender West Point, its garrisons and stores, 
and to receive for his treachery ten thousand pounds and a commission as 
brigadier in the British army. All preliminaries being settled, papers 
containing a full description of West Point, its defences and the best 




SCKNE OF AKNOLD S 
TREASON, 1780. 



THE END. 345 

method of attack were made out and given to Andre, who secreted the 
dangerous documents in his stockings. During that day an American 
battery drove the Vulture from its moorings in the river ; and at night- 
fall Andre was obliged to cross to the other side and proceed by land 
toward New York. He passed the American outposts in safety; but at 
Tarrytown, twenty-five miles from the city, he was suddenly confronted 
by three militiamen * who stripped him, found his papers, and delivered 
him to Colonel Jameson at North Castle. Through that officer's amazing 
stupidity Arnold was at once notified that John Anderson — that being 
the assumed name of Andre — had been taken with his passport and some 
papers " of a very dangerous tendency." Arnold, on hearing the news, 
fled to the river and escaped on board the Vulture. Andre was tried by 
a court-martial at Tappan, and condemned to death. On the 2d of Oc- 
tober he was led to the gallows, and, under the stern code of war, was 
hanged. Though dying the death of a felon, he met his doom like a 
brave man, and after times have commiserated his sad fate. Arnold 
received hx^jpay. 

In tlie dark days of December there came a ray of light from 
Europe. For several years Holland ha<.' secretly favored the Americans ; 
now she began negotiations for a commercial treaty similar to that already 
existing between France and the United States. Great Britain discovered 
the purposes of the Dutch government ; there were angry remonstrances, 
and then, on the 20th of December, an open declaration of war. Thus 
the Netherlands were added to the enemies of England ; it seemed that 
George III. and his ministers would have enough to do without further 
efforts to enforce a stamp-act or levy a tax on tea. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

THE END. 



FOR the Americans the year 1781 opened gloomily. The condition 
of the army was desperate — no food, no pay, no clothing. Even the 
influence of Washington was not sufficient to quiet the growing discontent 
of the soldiery. On the first day of January the whole Pennsylvania 
line, numbering nearly two thousand, mutinied, left their camp at ^lorris- 

* John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac van Wart. Congress afterward rewarded 
them with silver medals and pensions for life. 



346 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

town and marched toward Philadelphia. General Wayne, after trying in 
vain to prevent the insurrection, went with his men, still hoping to con- 
trol thera. At Princeton they were met by two emissaries from Sir Henry 
Clinton, and were tempted with offers of money, clothing and release from 
military service if they would desert the American standard. The mu- 
tinous patriots made answer by seizing the British agents and delivering 
them to General Wayne to be hanged as spies. For this deed the com- 
missioners of Congress, who now arrived, offered the insurgents a large 
reward, but the reward was indignantly refused. Washington, knowing 
how shamefully the army had been neglected by Congress, was not un- 
willing that the mutiny should take its o^vTl course. The congressional 
agents were therefore left to adjust the difficulty with the rebellious 
troo]«. But the breach was easily healed ; a few liberal concessions on 
the part of the government sufficed to quiet the mutiny. 

About the middle of the same month the New Jersey brigade, sta- 
tioned at Pompton, revolted. This movement Washington quelled by 
force. General Robert Howe marched to the camp with five hundred 
regulars and compelled twelve of the principal mutineers to execute the 
two leaders of the revolt. From that day order was completely restored. 
These insurrections had a good rather than a bad effect; Congress ^vas 
thoroughly alarmed, and immediate provisions were made for the better 
support of the army. An agent was sent to France to obtain a further 
loan of money. Eobert Morris was appointed secretary of finance ; the 
Bank of North America was organized; and although the outstanding 
debts of the United States could not be paid, yet all future obligations were 
promptly met, for Morris and his friends pledged their private fortunes 
to sustain the credit of the government. 

In the North military movements were begun by Arnold. On 
arriving at New York the traitor had received the promised commission, 
and was now a brigadier-general in the British army. In the preceding 
November, Washington and Major Henry Lee formed a plan to capture 
him. Sergeant John Champe undertook the daring enterprise, deserted 
to the enemy, entered New York, joined Arnold's company, and with two 
assistants concerted measures to abduct him from the city and convey him 
to the American camp. But Arnold suddenly moved his quarters, and 
the plan was defeated. A month afterward he was given command of a 
fleet and a land-force of sixteen hundred men, and on the 16th of Decem- 
ber left New York to make a descent on the coasts of Virginia. 

Early in January the traitor entered James River and began war on 
his countrymen. His proceedings were marked with much ferocity, but 
not with the daring which characterized his former exploits. In the 



THE END. 347 

vicinity of Richmond a vast quantity of public and private property was 
destroyed. The country along the river was devastated; and when there 
was nothing left to excite his cupidity or gratify his revenge, Arnold took 
up his headquarters in Portsmouth, a few miles south of Hampton Eoads. 
Again AVashington planned his capture. The French fleet, anchored at 
Newport, was ordered to sail for Virginia to co-operate with La Fayette, 
who was sent in the direction of Portsmouth with a detachment of tv*elve 
hundred men. But Admiral Arbuthnot, being apprised of the movement, 
sailed from New York and drove the French squadron back to Rhode 
Island. La Fayette, deprived of the expected aid, was forced to abandon 
the undertaking, and Arnold again escaped. 

About the middle of April General Phillips arrived at Portsmouth 
with a force of two thousand British regulars. Joining his troops with 
those of Arnold, he assumed command of the whole, and again the fertile 
districts of Lower Virginia were ravaged with fire and sword. Early in 
May, Phillips died, and for seven days Arnold held the supreme com- 
mand of the British forces in Virginia. That was the height of his trea- 
sonable glory. On the 20th of the month Lord Cornwallis arrived at 
Petersburg and ordered him to begone. Returning to New York, he 
received from Clinton a second detachment, entered the Sound, landed at 
New London, in his native State, and captured the town. Fort Griswold, 
which was defended by Colonel Ledyard with a hundred and fifty militia- 
men, was carried by storm. When Ledyard surrendered, the British 
officer who received his sword stabbed him to death ; it was the signal 
for a massacre of the garrison, seventy-three of whom were murdeicd in 
cold blood ; of the remainder, thirty M^ere wounded and the rest made 
prisoners. With this bloody and ignominious deed the name of Arnold 
disappears from American history. 

JMeanM'hile, some of the most stirring events of the war had occurred 
at the South. At the close of the preceding year General Greene had 
taken command of the American army — M'hich was only the shadow of 
an army — at Charlotte, North Carolina. Cornwallis had fallen back in 
the direction of Camden. Greene with great energy reorganized his 
forces and divided them into an eastern and a western division ; the com- 
mand of the latter was given to General Morgan. In the first clays of 
January this gallant officer was sent into the Spartanburg district of South 
Carolina to repress the tories and encourage the patriot militia. His suc- 
cess was such as to exasperate Cornwallis, who immediately despatched 
Colonel Tarleton with his famous cavalry legion to destroy Morgan's 
forces or drive them out of the State. The Americans, apprised of Tarle- 
ton's approach, took a favorable position at the Cowpens, where, on the 



848 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

17th of January, they were attacked by the British, eleven hundred strong. 
Tarleton, confident of success, made the onset with impetuosity ; but ]\Ior- 
gan's men sustained the shock with firmness, and, when the enemy's re- 
serves were called into action, either held their ground or retired in good 
order. At the crisis of the battle the American cavalry, commanded by 
Colonel William Washington, made a furious charge and scattered the 
British dragoons like chaff before them. The rout was complete — the vic- 
tory decisive. Washington and Tarleton had a personal encounter on the 
field, and the latter fled with a sword-gash in his hand. His corps was 
annihilated ; ten British officers and ninety privates were killed, and five 
hundred and twenty-three were captured. Two pieces of artillery, eight 
hundred muskets and two flags were among the trophies of the battle. 

When Cornwallis, who was encamped with his army thirty miles 
down the Catawba, heard of the disaster to his arms, he made a rapid 
march up the river to reach the fords in Morgan's rear. But Greene, 
who had also heard the news, hastened to the camp of Morgan, took com- 
mand in person and began a hasty retreat. At the same time he sent 
word to General Huger, who commanded the eastern division, to fall 
back toward Charlotte, where it was proposed to form a junction of the 
two wings of the army. On the 28th of January Morgan's division 
reached the Catawba and crossed to the northern bank, with prisoners, 
spoils and baggage. Within two hours the British van arrived at the 
ford ; but it was already sunset, and Cornwallis concluded to wait for the 
morning; then he would cross and win an easy victory. During the 
night the clouds opened and poured down torrents ; in the morning the 
river was swollen to a flood. It w^as many days before the British forced 
their way across, dispersing the militia on the opposite bank. And now 
began a second race, this time for the fords of the Yadkin. 

The distance was sixty miles and the roads wretched. In two days 
the Americans reached the river. The crossing was nearly eifected, when 
the British appeared in sight, attacked the rearguard and captured a few 
wagons; nothing else was injured. That night the Yadkin was made 
impassable by rains in the mountains, and Cornwallis was again delayed; 
Greene pressed forward to Guilford Court-House, where he arrived on the 
7th of February. The British marched up the Y''adkin to the shallow 
ford at Huntsville, where, on the 9th of the month, they succeeded in 
crossing. The lines of retreat and pursuit Avere now parallel, and the two 
armies were less than twenty-five miles apart. A third time the race 
began, and again the Americans won it. On the 13th, Greene, with the 
main division, crossed the Dan into Virginia, and on the following day 
the American rearguard entered the boats and was safe. The British van 



THE END. ^^-^y 

was already in sight and the whole army but a few miles distant. Never 
was a retreat more skillfully conducted. Cornwallis, mortified at his 
repeated failures, abandoned the pursuit and retired with his army to 
Hillsborough. 

Once in Virginia, Greene was rapidly reinforced. After a few days 
of recruiting and rest he felt himself strong enough to begin oifensive 
movements. On the 22d of February he recrossed the Dan into North 
Carolina. ]\leanwhile, Cornwallis had despatched Tarleton with a body 
of cavalry into the region between the Haw and Deep Rivers to encourage 
the tories. Being informed of this movement, Greene sent Colonel Lee 
into the same district. Three hundred loyalists, already under arms, 
were marching to join Tarleton. On the route they were intercepted by 
the American cavalry, whom, supposing them to be British, they saluted 
with a shout of " Long live the king !" Colonel Lee and his men quietly 
surrounded the unsuspecting tories, fell upon them as a band of traitors, 
and killed or captured the entire company. 

By the addition of the Virginia militia Greene's army now num- 
bered four thousand four hundred men. Determining to avoid battle no 
longer, lie marched to Guilford Court-House, took a strong position and 
awaited his antagonist. Cornwallis, accepting the challenge, at once 
moved forward to the attack. On the 15th of March the two armies met 
on Greene's chosen ground, and a severe but indecisive battle was fought. 
The forces of Greene were superior in numbers, and those of Cornwallis in 
discipline. If the American militia had stood firm, the result would not 
have been doubtful ; but the raw recruits behaved badly, broke line and 
fled. Confusion ensued ; the Americans fought hard, but were eventually 
driven from the field and forced to retreat for several miles. In killed 
and wounded the British loss was greatest ; but large bodies of the militia 
returned to their homes, reducing Greene's army to less than three thou- 
sand. Nevertheless, to the British the result was equivalent to a defeat. 

Cornwallis now boasted, made big proclamations, and then re- 
treated. On the 7th of April he reached the sea-coast at Wilmington, 
and immediately thereafter proceeded to Virginia. How he arrived at 
Petersburg, superseded Arnold and sent him out of the State has already 
been narrated. The British forces in the Carolinas remained under com- 
mand of Lord Rawdon, who was posted with a strong division at Cam- 
den. With him General Greene, after the departure of Cornwallis, was 
left to contend. The American army was accordingly advanced into 
South Carolina. A detachment was sent against Fort Watson, on the 
east bank of the Santee, and the place was obliged to surrender. Greene 
marched with the main body to Ilobkirk's Hill, a short distance north of 



350 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Camden, posted his men in a strong position and awaited the movements 
of Rawdon. What that officer would do was not long a question of doubt. 
On the 25th of April he moved from Camden with his entire force and 
attacked the American camp. For once General Greene came near being 
surprised ; but his men were swiftly formed for battle ; Rawdon's column 
was badly arranged ; and for a while it seemed that the entire British 
force would be slain or captured. Just at the critical moment, however, 
some valuable American officers who commanded in the centre were 
killed ; their regiments, becoming confused, fell back ; Rawdon saw his 
advantage, pressed forward, broke the centre, captured the hill, and M^on 
the day. The Americans retired from the field, but saved their artillery 
and bore away the wounded. Again the genius of Greene made defeat 
seem little less than victory. 

On the 10th of May Lord Rawdon evacuated Camden and retired 
to Eutaw Springs, sixty-five miles above the mouth of the Santee. The 
Britich posts at Granby, Orangeburg, Fort Mott and Augusta fell suc- 
cessively into the hands of the patriots. By the 5th of June only Eutaw 
Springs, Charleston and Ninety-Six remained in possession of the enemy. 
The latter place Avas already besieged by General Greene, who, after the 
battle of Hobkirk's Hill, advanced to Fort Granby, and thence to Ninety- 
Six. For twenty-seven days the siege was pressed with vigor. The 
supply of water was cut off from the fort, and the garrison could not 
have held out more than two days longer; but Lord Rawdon was 
rapidly approaching with a force of two thousand men ; and the Ameri- 
cans, after an unsuccessful assault, were obliged, on the 18th of June, to 
raii-e the siege and retreat. RaAvdon pursued, but Greene escaped, as 
usual, and the British, abandoning Ninety-Six, fell back to Orangeburg. 
Greene, with ceaseless activity, followed the retreating enemy, and would, 
but for their strength, have assaulted Rawdon's works. Deeming the 
position impregnable, the American general recrossed the Santee and took 
his station on the highlands in Sumter district. Here, in the healthful 
air of the hill-country, he passed the sickly months of summer. 

Sumter, Lee and Marion were constantly abroad, traversing the 
country in all directions, cutting off sup])lies from the enemy, breaking 
his lines of communication and smiting the tories right and left. Lord 
Ra\vdon now resigned the command of the British forces to Colonel Stuart 
and went to Charleston. While there he became a principal actor in one 
of the most shameful scenes of the Revolution. Colonel Isaac Hayne, an 
eminent patriot who had formerly taken an oath of allegiance to the king, 
was caught in command of a troop of American cavalry. He was at once 
taken to Charleston, arraigned before Colonel Balfour, the commandant, 



THE END. 



351 



hurried through the mockery of a trial and condemned to death. Kaw- 
don gave his sanction, and on the 31st of July Colonel Ilayne was hanged. 
Just men in Europe joined with the patriots of America in denouncing the 
act as worthy of barbarism. 

On the 22d of August General Greene left the heights of the Santee 
and marched toward Orangeburg. The British decam])ed at his approacli 
and took post at Eutaw Springs, forty miles below. The Americans 
pressed after them and overtook them on the 8th of September. One 
of the fiercest battles 
of the war ensued; and 
General Greene was 
denied a decisive vic- 
tory only by the bad 
conduct of some of his 
men, who, before the 
field was fairly won, 
abandoned themselves 
to eating and drink- 
ing in the enemy's 
camp. Stuart rallied 
his troops, returned to 
the charge and regain- 
e d his position. 
Greene, after losing 
five hundred and fifty- 
five men, gave over 
the struggle. The 
British lost in killed 
and wounded nearly 
seven hundred, and 
more than five hun- 
dred prisoners. On 

the day after the battle Stuart hastily retreated to Monk's Corner ; Greene 
followed M'ith his army, and after two months of manoeuvring and de- 
sultory warfare the British were driven into Charleston. In the mean 
time, General St. Clair had cleared North Carolina by forcing the enemy 
to evacuate Wilmington. In the whole country south of Virginia only 
Charleston and Savannah remained imder dominion of the king's array ; 
the latter city was evacuated by the British on the lltli of July, and the 
former on the 14th of December, 1782. Such was the close of the Revo- 
lutiou in tlie Carolinas and Georgia. 




GENERAL GREENE. 



352 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

But the final scene was to be enacted in Virginia. There, m the 
last days of April, 1781, Cornwallis took command of the British army 
and began to ravage the country on both banks of the James. In the 
course of the following two months property, j)ublic and private, was 
destroyed to the value of fifteen million dollars. La Fayette, to whom 
the defence of the State had been entrusted, was unable to meet Corn- 
wallis in the field, but watched his movements with sleepless vigilance. 
While the British were in the vicinity of Richmond a detachment under 
Tarleton proceeded as far west as Charlottesville, where the Virginia 
legislature was in session. The town was taken, the country devastated, 
and seven members of the assembly made prisoners. Governor Jefferson 
escaped only by riding into the mountains. 

AVhen there was little left to destroy, Cornwallis marched down 
the north bank of the James to Green Springs, eight miles above the site 
of Jamestown. He had received orders from Sir Henry Clinton to de- 
scend the river and take such a position on the coast as would keep the 
army within supporting distance of New York ; for Clinton was very 
apprehensive that Washington and the French would attack him. La 
Fayette hovered upon the rear of Cornwallis; and on the 6th of July, 
M^hen it was supposed that the main body of the enemy had crossed the 
James, General Wayne, who led the American advance, suddenly attacked 
the whole British army. Cornwallis was so surprised by the audacious 
onset that when W^ayne, seeing his mistake, made a hasty retreat, no pur- 
suit was attempted. The loss of the two armies was equal, being a hun- 
dred and twenty on each side. After the passage of James River, the 
British marched to Portsmouth, where Arnold had had his headquarters 
in the previous spring. There Cornwallis would have fortified himself; 
but the orders of Clinton were otherwise; and in the first days of August 
the army was again embarked and conveyed to Yorktown, on the southern 
bank of York River, a fcAV miles above the mouth. 

La Fayette quickly advanced into the peninsula and took post but 
eight miles distant from the British. From this position he sent urgent 
despatches to Washington, beseeching him to come to Virginia and aid in 
striking the enemy a fatal blow. A powerful French armament, com- 
manded by Count de Grasse, was hourly expected in the Chesapeake, 
and La Fayette saw at a glance that if a fleet could be anchored in the 
mouth of York River, cutting oflP retreat, the doom of Cornwallis Avould 
be sealed. During the months of July and August, Washington, from 
his camp on the Hudson, looked wistfully to the South. But all the while 
Clinton was kept in feverish alarm by false despatches, written for the 
purpose of falling into his hands. These intercepted messages indicated 



THE END. 



353 



that the Americans and French would immediately begin the siege of 
New York ; and for that Clinton made ready. When, in the last days 
of August, he was informed that Washington had broken up his camp 
and was already marching with his whole army toward Virginia, the 
British general would not believe it, but went on preparing for a siege. 
Washington pressed rapidly forward, paused two days at Mount Vernon, 
where he had not been for six years, and met La Fayette at Williams- 
burg. Meanwhile, on the 30tli of August, the French fleet, numbering 
twenty-eiglit ships of the line, with nearly four thousand troops on board, 
had reached the Chesapeake and safely anchored in the mouth of York 
River. Cornwallis, with the British army, was blockaded both by sea 
and land. 

To add still further to the strength of the allies, Count de Barras, 
who commanded the French flotilla at Newport, sailed into the Chesa- 
peake with eight ships of the 
line and ten transports, bear- 
ing cannon for the siege. On 
the 5th of September the 
English admiral Graves ap- 
peared in the bay, and a naval 
battle ensued, in which the 
British ships were so roughly 
handled that they returned 
to New York. On the 28th 
of September the allied 
armies, superior in numbers 
and confident of success, en- 
camped around Yorktown. 
The story of the siege is brief. 
Tarleton, who occupied Glou- 
cester Point, on the other side 

of the river, made one spirited sally, but was driven back with severe 
loss. On the night of the 6th of October the trenches were opened at the 
distance of six hundred yards from the British works. The cannonade 
was constant and effective. On the lltli of the month the allies drew 
their second parallel Avithin three hundred yards of Cornwallis's redoubts. 
On the night of the 14th the enemy's outer works were carried by storm. 
At daydawn of the 16th the British made a sortie, only to be hurled back 
into their entrenchments. On the next day Cornwallis proposed a sur- 
render; on the 18th terms of capitulation were drawn up and signed j 
and at two o'clock in the afternoon of the 19th Major-General O'Hara — 




SIEGE OF YORKTOWN, OCTOBER, 1781. 



354 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

for Cornwallis, feigning sickness, remained in his tent — led the whole 
British army from the trenches into an open field, where, in the presence 
of the allied ranks of France and America, seven thousand two hundred 
and forty-seven English and Hessian soldiers laid down their arms, de- 
livered their standards, and became prisoners of war. Eight hundred 
and forty sailors were also surrendered. Seventy-five brass and thirty- 
one iron guns were taken, together with all the accoutrements of the 
army. 

By a swift courier the news was borne to Congress. On the even- 
ing of the 23d the messenger rode into Philadelphia. When the sentinels 
of the city called the hour of ten that night, they added, " and Cornwallis 
is taken." On the morrow Congress assembled, and before that august 
body the despatch of Washington was read. The members, exulting and 
weeping for gladness, went in concourse with the citizens to the Dutch 
Lutheran church and turned the afternoon into a thanksgiving. The note 
of rejoicing sounded through the length and breadth of the land ; for it 
was seen that the dominion of the Briton in America was for ever broken. 

After the surrender the conquered army was marched under guard 
to the barracks of Lancaster. Washington, with the victorious Americans 
and French, returned to the camps of New Jersey and the Hudson. On 
the Continent of Europe the news was received with every demonstration 
of gladness. In England the king and his ministers heard the tidings 
with mortification and rage ; but the English j^eople were either secretly 
pleased or openly rejoiced. During the fall and winter the ministerial 
majority in Parliament fell off rapidly ; and on the 20th of March, 1782, 
Lord North and his friends, unable longer to conduct the government, 
resigned their offices. A new ministry was immediately formed, favor- 
able to America, favorable to freedom, favorable to peace. In the begin- 
ning of May the command of the British forces in the United States was 
transferred from Clinton to Sir Guy Carleton, a man friendly to American 
interests. The hostile demonstrations of the enemy, now confined to New 
York and Charleston, ceased ; and Washington made no efforts to dis- 
lodge the foe, for the war had really ended. 

In the summer of 1782 Eichard Oswald was sent by Parliament 
to Paris. The object of his mission was to confer with Franklin and 
Jay, the ambassadors of the United States, in regard to the terms of 
peace. Before the discussions were ended, John Adams, arriving from 
Amsterdam, and Henry Laurens from London, entered into the negotia- 
tions. On the 30th of November preliminary articles of peace were 
agreed to and signed on the part of Great Britain by Oswald, and on be- 
half of the United States by Franklin, Adams, Jay and Laurens. In 



'^(^^ — / 




UojartS: FoljerCin 



THE END. 355 

the following April the terms were ratified by Congress; but it was 
not until the 3d of November, 1783, that a final treaty was eftected be- 
tween all the nations that had been at war. On that day the ambassadors 
of Holland, Spain, England, France and the United States, in a solemn 
conference at Paris, agreed to and signed the articles of a permanent 
peace. 

The terms of the Treaty of 1783 were briefly these: A full 
and complete recognition of the independence of the United States ; the 
recession by Great Britain of Florida to Spain ; the surrender of all the 
remaining territory east of the Mississippi and south of the great lakes to 
the United States ; the free navigation of tlie Mississippi and the lakes 
by American vessels ; the concession of mutual rights in the Newfound- 
land fisheries ; and the retention by Great Britain of Canada and Nova 
Scotia, with the exclusive control of the St. Lawrence. 

Early in August Sir Guy Carleton received instructions to evacuate 
New York city. Three months were spent in making arrangements for 
this important event. Finally, on the 25th of November, everything 
"was in readiness ; the British army M^as embarked on board the fleet ; the 
sails were spread ; the ships stood out to sea ; dwindled to white specks 
on the horizon; disappeared. The Briton was gone. After the struggles 
and sacrifices of an eight years' war the patriots had achieved the inde- 
pendence of their country. The United States of America took an equal 
station among the nations of the earth. 

Nine days after Carleton's departure there was a most affecting 
scene in the city. Washington assembled his officers and bade them a 
final adieu. When they were met, the chieftain spoke a fcAV affectionate 
words to his comrades, who came forward in turn and with teai's and 
sobs which the veterans no longer cared to conceal bade him farewell. 
Washington then walked to Whitehall, followed by a vast concourse of 
citizens and soldiers, and thence departed to Annapolis, where Congress 
was in session. On his way he paused at Philadelphia and made to the 
proper officers a report of his expenses during the war. The account was 
in his own handwriting, and covered a total expenditure of seventy-four 
thousand four hundred and eighty-five dollars — all correct to a cent. 
The route of the chief from Paulus's Hook to Annajjolis was a continuous 
triumph. The people by hundreds and thousands flocked to the villages 
and roadsides to see him pass ; gray-headed statesmen to speak words of 
praise ; young men to shout with enthusiasm ; maidens to strew his way 
with flowers. 

On the 23d of December Washington was introduced to Congress. 
To that body of patriotic sages he delivered an address full of feeling, 



356 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

wisdom and modesty. Then with that dignity which always marked his 
conduct he surrendered his commission as commander-in-chief of the 
American army. General Mifflin, the president of Congress, responded 
in an eloquent manner, and then the hero retired to his home at Mount 
Vernon. The man whom, the year before, some disaffected soldiers were 
going, to make king of America, now, by his own act, became a citizen 
of the Republic. 



CHAPTER XLV. . 
CONFEDERATION AND~UNION. 



DURING the progress of the Revolution the civil government of the 
United States was in a deplorable condition. Nothing but the im- 
minent peril of the country had, in the first place, led to the calling of a 
Continental Congress. And when that body assembled, it had no method 
of proceeding, no constitution, no power of efficient action. The two 
great wants of the country were money to carry on the war and a central 
authority to direct the war: the former of these was never met; and 
"Washington was made to supply the latter. Whenever Congress would 
move in the direction of a firmer government, division would spring up, 
and action would be checked by the remonstrance of jealous colonies. 
Nevertheless, the more far-seeing statesmen of the times labored constantly 
to create substantial political institutions. 

Foremost of all those who worked for better government was Ben- 
jamin Franklin. As early as the times of the French and Indian War 
he began to agitate the question of a permanent union of the colonies. 
During the troubled years just preceding the Revolution he brooded over 
his cherished project, and in 1775 laid before Congress the plan of a per- 
petual confederation of the States. But the attention of that body M^as 
wholly occupied with the stirring events of the day, and Franklin's 
measure received but little notice. Congress, without any real authority, 
began to conduct the government, and its legislation was generally ac- 
cepted by the States. Still, the central authority was only an authority 
by sufferance, and was liable at any time to be annulled by the caprice 
of State legislatures. 

Under such a system thinking men grew restless. On the 11th of 
June, 1776, a committee was appointed by Congress to prepare a plan 



CONFEDERATION AND UNION. 357 

of confederation. After a month the work was completed and laid before 
the house. Another month was spent in fruitless debates, and then the 
question was laid over till the following spring. In April of 1777 the 
discussion was resumed, and continued through the summer. Meanwhile, 
the power of Great Britain being overthrown, the States had all adopted 
republican governments, and the sentiment of national union had made 
considerable headway. ^Finally, on the 15th of November, a vote was 
taken in Congress, and the articles of confederation reported by the com- 
mittee were adopted. The next step was to transmit the articles to the 
several State legislatures for ratification. The time thus occupied ex- 
tended to the following June, and then the new frame of government wa9 
returned to Congress with many amendments. These having been con- 
sidered and the most serious objections removed, the articles were signed 
by the delegates of eight States on the 9th of July, 1778. Later in the 
same month the representatives of Georgia and North Carolina affixed 
their signatures. In November the delegates of New Jersey, and in the 
following February thos&'bf Delaware, signed the compact. INIaryland 
held aloof; and it was not until March of 1781 that the consent of that 
commonwealth could be obtained. Thus the Revolution was nearly 
ended before the new system was finally ratified. 

The government of the United States under the articles of con- 
federation was a democratic republic. It presented itself under the form 
of A Loose Union of Independent Commonwealths — a con- 
federacy of sovereign States. The executive and legislative powers of 
the general government were vested in Congress — a body composed of 
not less than two nor more than seven representatives from each State. 
But Congress could exercise no other than delegated powers; the sover- 
eignty was reserved to the States. The most important of the exclusive 
privileges of Congress were the right of making war and peace, the regu- 
lation of foreign intercourse, the power to receive and send ambassadors, 
the control of the coinage of money, the settlement of disputed boundaries 
and the care of the public domain. There was no chief magistrate of the 
Ilepublic; and no general judiciary was provided for. The consent of 
nine States was necessary to complete an act of legislation. In voting 
each State cast a single ballot. The union of the States was declared to 
be perpetual. 

On the day of the ratification of the articles by Maryland the old 
Congress adjourned, and on the following morning reassembled imder the 
new form of government. From the very first the inadequacy of that 
government was manifest. To begin with, it contradicted the doctrines 
of the Declaration of Independence. Congress had but a shadow of 



358 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

authority, and that shadow, instead of proceeding from the people, 
emanated from States which were declared to be sovereign and inde- 
pendent. The first great duty of the new government was to provide 
for the payment of the war debt, which had now reached the sum of 
thirty-eight million dollars. Congress could only recommend to the 
several States the levying of a sufficient tax to meet the indebtedness. 
Some of the States made the required levy ; others were dilatory ; others 
refused. At the very outset the government was balked and thwarted. 
The serious troubles that attended the disbanding of the army were trace- 
able rather to the inability than to the indisposition of Congress to pay the 
soldiers. The princely fortune of Robert Morris was exhausted and him- 
self brouglit to poverty in a vain effort to sustain the credit of the govern- 
ment. For three years after the treaty of peace public affairs were in a 
condition bordering on chaos. The imperiled state of the Ilei)ublic was 
viewed with alarm by the sagacious patriots who had carried the Revolu- 
tion to a successful issue. It Avas seen that unless the articles of confedera- 
tion could be replaced with a better system the nation would go to ruin. 
The project of remodeling the government originated at JNIount 
Vernon. In 1785, Washington, in conference with a company of states- 
men at his home, advised the calling of a convention to meet at Annapolis 
in the following year. The proposition was received with favor ; and in 
September of 1786 the representatives of five States assembled. The 
question of a tariff on imports Avas discussed ; and then the attention of 
the delegates was turned to a revision of the articles of confederation. 
Since only a minority of the States were represented in the conference, it 
was resolved to adjourn until May of the following year, and all the 
States were urgently requested to send representatives at that time. 
Congress also invited the several legislatures to appoint delegates to the 
proposed convention. All of the States except Rhode Island responded 
to the call ; and on the second Monday in May, 1787, the representatives 
assembled at Philadelphia. AVashington, who was a delegate from Vir- 
ginia, was chosen president of the convention. A desultory discussion 
followed until the 29th of the month, Avhen Edmund Randolph intro- 
duced a resolution to set aside the articles of confederation and adopt a 
new constitution. There was further debate ; and then a committee was 
appointed to revise the articles. Early in September the work was done ; 
the report of the committee was adopted ; and that report was the Con- 
stitution OF THE United States.* At the same time it was resolved 
to send copies of the new instrument to the several legislatures for ratifi- 
cation or rejection. 

* The Constitution was written by Gouvernenr Morris, of Pennsylvania. 



CONFEDEBA TION AND UNION. 



359 



While the constitutional convention was in session at Philadel- 
phia the last colonial Congress was sitting in New York. The latter 
body was in a feeble and distracted condition. Only eight States 
were represented. It was evident that the old Confederation, under 
which the colonies had won their freedom, was tottering to its fall. 
Nevertheless, before the 
adjournment of Con- 
gress, a measure was suc- 
cessfully carried through 
which was only second in 
importance to the forma- 
tion of the constitution. 
This was the organiza- 
tion of THE North- 
western Territory. 
As a preliminary meas- 
ure this vast domain was 
ceded to the United 
States by Virginia, New 
York, Massachusetts, 
and Connecticut. For 
the government of the 
territory an ordinance, 
drawn up by Mr. Jeffer- 
son, was adopted on the 
13th of July, 1787. General Arthur St, Clair, then president of Congress, 
received the appointment of military governor, and in the summer of 
the following year began his duties with headquarters at Marietta. 
By the terms of the ordinance it was stipulated that not less than 
three nor more than five States should be formed out of the great 
territory thus brought under the dominion of civilization ; that the 
States when organized should be admitted on terms of equality with 
the original members of the confederation, and that slavery should be 
prohibited. Out of this noble domain the five great States of Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and "Wisconsin were destined in after 
times to be formed and added to the Union, 

On the question of adopting the Constitution the people were 
divided. It was the first great jx)litical agitation in the country. 
Those who favored the new frame of government were called Fed- 
eralists; those who opposed, Anti-Federalists or Republicans. 
The leaders of the former party were Washington, Jay, Madison, and 




ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 



360 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Hamilton, the latter statesman throwing the whole force of his genius 
and learning into the controversy. In those able papers called the -FecZ- 
erallst he and Madison successfully answered every objection of the 
anti-Federal party. Hamilton was the first and perhaps the greatest 
expounder of constitutional liberty in America. To him the Republic 
owes a debt of perpetual gratitude for having established on a firm and 
enduring basis the true principles of free government. 

Under the Constitution of the United States the powers of gov- 
ernment are arranged under three heads — Legislative, Executive, 
and Judicial. The legislative power is vested in Congress — a body 
composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The members 
of the Senate are chosen by the legislatures of the several States, and 
serve for a period of six years. Each State is represented by two Sen- 
ators. The members of the House of Representatives are elected by 
the people of the respective States ; and each State is entitled to a num- 
ber of representatives proportionate to the population of that State. 
The members of this branch are chosen for a term of two years. Con- 
gress is the law-making power of the nation ; and all legislative ques- 
tions of a general character are the appropriate subjects of congress- 
ional action. 

The executive power of the United States is vested in a Pres- 
ident, who is chosen for a period of four years by a body of men 
called the electoral college. The electors composing the college are 
chosen by the people of the several States ; and each State is entitled 
to a number of electors equal to the number of its representatives and 
senators in Congress. The duty of the President is to enforce the laws 
of Congress in accordance with the Constitution. He is commander- 
in-chief of the armies and navies of the United States. Over i^ie 
legislation of Congress he has the power of veto ; but a two-thirds con- 
gressional majority may pass a law without the President's consent. 
He has the right of appointing cabinet officers and foreign ministers; 
but all of his appointments must be approved by the Senate. The 
treaty-making power is also lodged with the President; but here again 
the concurrence of the Senate is necessary. In case of the death, resig- 
nation, or removal of the President, the Vice-President becomes chief 
magistrate ; otherwise his duties are limited to presiding over the Senate. 

The judicial power of the United States is vested i@ a supreme 
court and in inferior courts established by Congress. The highest 
judicial officer is the chief-justice. All the judges of the supreme and 
inferior courts hold their offices during life or good behavior. The 
jurisdiction of these courts extends to all causes arising under the 



CONFEDERA TION AND UNION. 361 

Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States. The right of 
trial by jury is granted in all cases except the impeachment of public 
officers. Treason against the United States consists only in levying 
war against them, or in giving aid and comfort to their enemies. 

The Constitution further provides that full faith sliall be given 
in all the States to the records of every State; that the citizens of any 
State shall be entitled to the privileges of citizens in all the States ; 
that new territories may be organized and new States admitted into 
the Union ; that to every State shall be guaranteed a republican form 
of government ; and that the Constitution may be altered or amended 
whenever the same is proposed by a two-thirds majority of both houses 
of Congress, and ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures of the sev- 
eral States. In accordance with this last provision fifteen amendments 
have been made to the Constitution. The most important of these are 
the articles which guarantee religious freedom ; change the method of 
electing President and Vice-President ; abolish slavery ; and forbid 
the abridgment of suifrage on account of race or color.* 

Such was the Constitution adopted, after much debate, for the 
government of the American people. Would the people ratify it? or 
had the work been done in vain? The little State of Delaware was 
first to answer the question. In her convention on the 3d of Decem- 
ber, 1787, the voice of the commonwealth was unanimously recorded 
in favor of the new Constitution. Ten days later Pennsylvania gave 
her decision by a vote of forty-six to twenty-three in favor of ratifi- 
cation. On the 19th of December New Jersey added her approval 
by a unanimous vote; and on the 2d of the following month Oeorgia 
did the same. On the 9th of January the Connecticut convention 
folk)wed, with a vote of a hundred and twenty-eight to forty, in favor 
of adoption. In Massachusetts the battle was hard fought and barely 
won. A ballot, taken on the 6th of February, resulted in ratification 
by the close vote of a hundred and eighty-seven to a hundred and 
sixty-eight. This really decided the contest. On the 28th of April 
Maryland rendered her decision by the strong vote of sixty-three to 
twelve. Next came the ratification of South Carolina by a vote of a 
hundred and forty-nine to seventy-three. In the New Hampshire 
convention there was a hard struggle, but the vote for adoption finally 
stood fifty-seven to forty-six, Juno 21st, 1788. This was the ninth 
State, and the work was done. For, by its own terms, the new gov- 
ernment was to go into operation Avhen nine States should ratify. The 
great commonwealth of Virginia still hesitated. Washington and 

* See Appendix F. 



362 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Madison were for the Constitution ; but Jefferson and Henry were 
opposed. Not until the 25th of June did her convention declare for 
adoption, and then only by a vote of eighty-nine to seventy-nine. 
It was now clear that the new government would be organized, 
and this fact was brought to bear as a powerful argument in favor of 
adoption by the convention at Poughkeepsie. The hope that New 
York city would be the seat of the Federal government also acted as 
a motive, and a motion to ratify was finally carried, July 27th, 1788. 
Only Rhode Island and North Carolina persisted in their refusal. But 
in the latter State a new convention was called, and on the 13th of 
November, 1789, the Constitution was formally adopted. As to Rhode 
Island, her jDcrtinacity was in inverse ratio to her importance. At 
length Providence and Newport seceded from the commonwealth ; the 
question of dividing the teritory between Massachusetts and Connecti- 
cut was raised, and the refractory member at last yielded by adopting 
the Constitution, May 29th, 1790. Then, for the first time, the Eng- 
lish-speaking race in the New World was united under a common gov- 
ernment — strong enough for safety, liberal enough for freedom. 

In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and a reso- 
lution of Congress, the first Wednesday of January, 1789, was named 
as the time for the election of a chief magistrate. The people had but 
one voice as to the man who should be honored with that trust. Early 
in April the ballots of the electors were counted in the presence of 
Congress, and George Washington was unanimously chosen President 
and John Adams Vice-President of the United States. On the 14th 
of the month AVashington received notification of his election, and 
departed for New York. His route thither was a constant triumph. 
Maryland welcomed him at Georgetown* Philadelphia by her execu- 
tive council, the trustees of her university, and the officers of the Cin- 
cinnati, did him honor. How did the people of Trenton exult in the 
presence of the hero who twelve years before had fought their battle ! 
There over the bridge of the Assanpink they built a triumphal arch, 
and girls in white ran before, singing and strewing the way with flow- 
ers. At Elizabethtown he was met by the principal officers of the gov- 
ernment and welcomed to the capital where he was to become the first 
chief magistrate of a free and grateful people. With this auspicious 
event the period of revolution and confederation ends, and the era of 
nationality in the New Republic is ushered in. Long and glorious be 
the history of that Republic, bought with the blood of patriots, and 
consecrated in the sorrows of Qur fathers ! 



PART V. 

ITATIOI^AL PERIOD. 

A. D. 1789—1876. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION, 17S9-1707. 

ON the 30th of April, 1789, Washington was duly inaugurated first 
President of the United States. Tiie new government was to have 
gone into operation on 
the 4th of March, but 
the event was con- 
siderably delayed. 
The inaugural cere- 
mony was performed 
on the balcony of the 
old City Hall, on the 
present site of the 
Custom-House, in 
Wall street. Chancel- 
lor Livingston of New 
York administered the 
oath of office. The 
streets and house-tops 
were thronged with 
people ; flags flutter- 
ed ; cannon boomed 
from the Battery. As 
soon as the public cere- 
mony was ended, 
Washington retired to 
the Senate chamber 
and delivered his in- 
augural address. The organization of the two houses of Congress had 
already been effected. 

(363) 




WASHINGTON. 



364 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The new government was embarrassed with many difficulties. The 
opponents of the Constitution were not yet silenced, and from the begin- 
ning they caviled at the measures of the administration. By the treaty 
of 1783 the free navigation of the Mississippi had been guaranteed. Now 
the jealous Spaniards of New Orleans hindered the passage of American 
ships. The people of the West looked to the great river as the natural 
outlet of their commerce ; they must be protected in their rights. On 
many parts of the frontier the malignant Red men were still at war with 
the settlers. As to financial credit, the United States had none. In the 
very beginning of his arduous duties Washington was prostrated with 
sickness, and the business of goverinnent was for many weeks delayed. 

Not until September were the first important measures adopted. 
On the 10th of that month an act was passed by Congress instituting a 
department of foreign affairs, a treasury department and a department of 
war. As members of his cabinet Washington nominated Jefferson, Knox 
and Hamilton ; the first as secretary of foreign affairs ; the second, of war ; 
and the third, of the treasury. In accordance with the provisions of the 
Constitution, a supreme court was also organized, John Jay receiving the 
appointment of first chief-justice. With him were joined as associate 
justices John Rutledge of South Carolina, James Wilson of Pennsyl- 
vania, William Cushing of Massachusetts, John Blair of Virginia, 
and James Iredell of North Carolina. Edmund Randolph was chosen 
attorney-general. Many constitutional amendments were now brought 
forward, and ten of them adopted. By this action on the jiart of 
Congress, the objections of North Carolina and Rhode Island were 
removed and both States ratified the Constitution, the former in No- 
vember of 1789 and the latter in the following May. 

On the 29th of September, 1789, Congress adjourned until the 
following January, and Washington availed himself of the opportu- 
nity thus offered to make a tour of the Eastern States. Accompanied 
by his secretaries, he set out in his carriage from New York on the 
15th of October, and nine days afterward reached Boston. At every 
point on the route the affection of the people, and especially of the 
Revolutionary veterans, burst out in unbounded enthusiasm. On 
reaching Boston the President was welcomed by Governor John 
Hancock and the selectmen of the city. No pains were spared that 
could add to the comfort and pleasure of the new nation's chief mag- 
istrate. After remaining a week among the scenes associated with 
his first command of the American army, he proceeded to Portsmouth 
and thence returned with improved health and peace of mind by way 
of Hartford to New York. 



1789 




93 



Kevolutioii. 



iK 



ISO I 



>iain> k'oii lioiiapar (*'. 

97. Pinckney n-jfitcil hy the Fniuli l»in<i(. iv. 
i<4. Partition of Poland. ' J. Tin- Krtiu Ir 

93. Execution ol J.ouis XVI. l»9. Overth row of the Directory. 

93. Fall of tile (.iirond ists. yy. Napole on, First Con.sul. , »I , .. 

I 4. >ap olcon, bi 

93. Keijjfii of Tt' rror. |^ nombardmrui of |K5 ?■'•"/ 

ff^^lr"^ Copenhagen. t; 

!i4. Fall.if Koiies ])iiMre. 1MK». ^Bl ,1Ai»rH/7o 

gelll. 



">. (ir eat political disturbances in England 



1.1 



91. Verinon 
the 

89. North ( amliiia rat 

90. Ilhode Island 




Washington, President. 

2. Ohio'admUtedTintothe 

t admitted into i I 

Inion. iMMi. JRenioval of the scatof jfjovernm 

ifies the Constitution. to Wnshin;rton, D. C | 

!'»). Te nnessec adniitti-d into 'the Inioii. 
ratifies the Constitution 1'>im) Pa.ssap- of the .Mien and Sedi 

oA« t f . .1.1 I 1. I- tlolin Adams, i.rt.,si,hnt. 

90. beat of govern n.ent at Piuladelph.a. .,,, \Va>hin gton dies at Mount Ver uon. a. ti 

9.S. War with Fra'ncc, 

I 4. Ila inilton \ 

94. I • ' 1 Wiiyn^t victuri). | 

I 
93. Genet, French niin|ister at W'ashintrton. ] 

92. K entuckv admitted into, the Inion. 99.Tr<aiv with Fnince. 



Wash in<<:t<>n n-dected President. 



91. jj;^^. 
91. Hunk of 



Clair' » dejtiit 



the I'nited States estab lislu-d. 



Thoniastlfft'er son, i 

.-.. Th.- > 
lisl 



:M. Whiskvlnsur rection. 

!"."). .fay's T riiitv. i 

John .\dams, Vice-i President. ' ^ 

I I Thomas Jcflerson. Vice-President. 

Jo hn .\dam8 re-elected Vice-President. 
John Jay, Cliief- .Iu.siicc. 
Jeft'erson, Secret ary of State. 
Hamilton, Sec reiury of Treaisurj-. | 

Knox, Secre tarv of War. 



.i<-a't' 







1. Aaron Ilurr, Vice- Prcsiden 
1. War with Tripoli. 

\ Georgf 
3. Comraod ore Pre! 



3. Purchase 



of Louii 



u 



i:s 



til 



IS25 



.Treaty of Tilsit, 
ror. 



'lilz. 



terloo,aml banishment 



11. I'ljiosition of Napoleon. 
tt. Divorce of Josephine 14.LouisXVIII. 
8. The Peninsular War. | ICil 

rebellion. In. Marriage of N apoleon I'- MSI"" 

to Maria Louisn. P^*J 

I'J. In vasioii of Russia. 
Orders in 1 uiinicil. 1.".. Treaty of Paris. 

'•• ' }rt\ I 1">- liisp of the Radieal I'artv in Kn-laml. 

Jena. "UHJ "'"y'-""'- k-^ , • „ ,. ^-^o^gc- IV." 

[f^ lb. Pa rlianu-ntarv reforms, 
katleofthe coast from Brest to 15. ^jfllifoHiA tinhneiif of A/i/ierx. 

1" \\'-\r \vi th .Vltriers. 



21. Napoleon dies. 

24. Charles X. 

of Napoleon. 



the Elbe. 



James Madison, presia . nt. 

12. Su rremler of Mackinaw. 

Pr_'. Su rrender of Detroit. 
Tippt cnuof. 14. HartfonKo nvention. 
12. H en 



Law; 



1(1 in a <lu el. 
r's conspir acy. 



ll.lJ!l7%«iV 



rv IVariiorn appoin fed eomniander-in-chi 

20. .M 
the 
14.1'* [('iiplure III Yuri: 



■\'* 1 f'lplitt 



esideiit and Lilllr Hflt. 

Madison re-elec ted President. 
12. Se coiid enil'artfo. 
12. W ur declared airainst Gr eat IJritain. 
y-^ 1>. The Seminole 

12. ^J^ Fort Dfarburn. Is. Cajitureof St. 



George Clinton re- 



(lent. 

m of patro nage estab- 

in the pubilic office.s. 



I 
)11 re-eleoted President. 



12. [i] 

12. [£3 



elccte«l Vice-President. 

14. {'nptnre and Kiirniii.' of \\'ii<hiiiirt 

Qnetrntowu. .lanii's ]>Ionro 

Thf Constitnlion nml the (iurrrirrf. 

14. Treaty of (.ih <Mt. 
The Waifp and tlieFrol n-. 



12. [ij The United Sfiitti and thf Mncfdintinu. 



aine admitted intc 
I'nioii. 



War. 

Marks and Pensiicola 
24. Vis- 
it of La 
on. Payette 

t*t President. 

3Ioni'<»0 re-elect- 

.d rr.>ident. 



21. .Missouri aiiniitteu 
into the I'nion. 



j 12. pw 7%f ('onMitutiun and llir Jnvn. 

First steal mboat on the IIuiIsod |13. > ^XFrenchtinrn. is. lllinojsadmit ted into the Pnion. 



Attack 
Pa.ssage 



on the Che.sapeake. 
of the Embargo Act. 



13, 



14. X^^FortMc lliiini. 

r — ^ Daniel Tompiun?., 

16. In diana admitted into 
Fort Meigs. \ 



inton, Vi ce-President. 
;ent to the Mediterranean. 



12. Lo 



13 

13. |J5^J Perry's I'icto ry. 

li.^^X^The Thames. \ 

16. V^yewOrlea ns. 
13.Ei^ Horseshoe Bend. 

F— ^ The a 



Vice-President, 
the Union. 
Tompkins re-tlect- 
ed Vice-President. 



111. Alabam a admitted 

in to the I'nion. 



Hornet <ind the Peacock. 
Vhesapea ke and the Shunnon. 
uisiana admitted into the I'nion. 
Elbridgc (ierry, Vi ce-President. 

13. fi The Argus \aud the Pelican. 

14. I *' !»l Lundy's Lane. 

r"^ 17. Mississippi admitt 

,, hr^r,, ,. I, 19. Florida 

U.\i^Plattiburg. luiwd 



I 21. Rise of the Slaver}- 
agitation. 

[21. The Mi.s.souri Com- 
promise. 



ed into the Union, 
ceded to tin" 
States. 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 365 

In the first months of his administration Washington was much 
vexed about questions of ceremony and etiquette. How should he 
appear in public? How often? What kind of entertainment should 
he give? Who should be invited? What title should he bear? And 
in what manner be introduced? In these matters there was no pre- 
cedent to guide him; for who had ever held such a station before? 
He must not, on the one hand, demean himself like a king, surrounded 
with peers and courtiers, nor, on the other hand, must he degrade his 
high office by such blunt democratical ceremonies as would render 
himself ridiculous and the Presidency contemptible. In his embar- 
rassment Washington sought the advice of Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, 
and others in regard to a suitable etiquette and ceremonial for the 
Republican court. Adams in answer would have much ceremony; 
Jefferson, none at all. The latter said : " I hope that the terms Excel- 
lency, Honor, Worship, Esquire, and even Mr. shall shortly and 
forever disappear from among us." Hamilton's reply favored a mod- 
erate and simple formality ; and this view was adopted by Washington 
as most consistent with the new frame of government. In the mean- 
time Congress had declared that the chief magistrate should have no 
title other than that of his office ; namely. President of the United 
States. So with ceremonies few and simple the order of affairs in the 
presidential office was established. 

The national debt, however, was the greatest and most threat- 
ening question ; but the genius of Hamilton triumphed over every 
difficulty. The indebtedness of the United States, including the 
revolutionary expenses of the several States, amounted to nearly 
eighty millions of dollars. Hamilton adopted a broad and honest 
policy. His plan, which was laid before Congress at the beginning 
of the second session, proposed that the debt of the United States 
due to American citizens, as well as the war debt of the individual 
States, should be assumed by the general government, and that all 
should be fully jmid. By this measare the credit of the country was 
vastly improved, even before actual payment was begun. As a 
means of augmenting the revenues of the government a duty was 
laid on the tonnage of merchant-ships, with a discrimination in favor 
of American vessels ; and customs were levied on all imported arti- 
cles. Hamilton's financial schemes were violently opposed; but his 
policy prevailed, and the credit of the government was soon firmly 
established. 

The proposition to assume the debts of the States had been coupled 
with another to fix the seat of g-overnment. After much discussion it was 



liGQ HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

agreed to establish the capital for ten years at Philadelphia, and afterward 
at some suitable locality on the Potomac. The next important measure 
was the organization of the territory south-west of the Ohio. In the 
autumn of 1790 a war broke out with the Miami Indians. Fort Wash- 
ington, on the present site of Cincinnati, Imd been established as the 
capital of the North-western Territory ; and General St. Clair had re- 
ceived the appointment as governor. The Indians had fairly relinquished 
their rights to the surrounding country; but other tribes came forward with 
pretended claims, and went to war to recover their lost possessions. At 
the close of September, General Harmar, with fourteen hundred troops, 
set out from Fort Washington to chastise the hostile Miamis. After de- 
stroying several villages and wasting the country as far as the Maumee, 
he divided his army into detachments. Colonel Hardin, who commanded 
the Kentucky volunteers, was ambuscaded and his forces routed at a vil- 
lage eleven miles from Fort Wayne; and on the 21st of October the 
main division was defeated with great loss at the Maumee Ford. Gen- 
eral Harmar was obliged to abandon the Indian country and retreat to 
Fort Washington. 

In the beginning of 1791 an act was passed by Congress establish- 
ing THE Bank of the United States. The measure originated with 
the secretary of the treasury, and was violently opposed by Jefferson and 
the anti-federal party. About the same time Vermont, which had been 
an independent territory since 1777, adopted the Constitution, and on the 
18th of February was admitted into the Union as the fourteenth State. 
The claim of New York to the jurisdiction of the province had been pur- 
chased, two years previously, for thirty thousand dollars. The first census 
of the United States, completed for the year 1790, showed that the popu- 
lation of the country had increased to three million nine hundred and 
twenty-nine thousand souls. 

After the defeat of Harmar the government adopted more vigorous 
measures for the repression of Indian hostilities. On the 6th of Septem- 
ber, 1791, General St. Clair, with an army of two thousand men, set out 
from Fort Washington to break the power of the Miami confederacy. 
On the night of November 3d he reached a point nearly a hundred miles 
north of Fort Washington, and encamped on one of the upper tribu- 
taries of the Wabash, in what is now the south-west angle of Mercer 
county, Ohio. On the following morning at sunrise his camp was sud- 
denly assailed by more than two thousand warriors, led by Little Turtle 
and several American renegades who had joined the Indians. After a 
terrible battle of three hours' duration, St. Clair was completely defeated, 
with a loss of fully half his men. The fugitive militia retreated pre- 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 367 

cipitately to Fort Washington, where they arrived four clays after the 
battle. The news of the disaster spread gloom and sorrow throughout 
the land. When the tidings reached Philadelphia the government 
was for a while in consternation. For once the benignant spirit of 
Washington gave way to wrath. " Here,''' said he in a tempest of 
indignation, — " here, in this very room, I took leave of General St. 
Clair. I wished him success and honor. I said to him, ^ You have 
careful instructions from the secretary of war, and I myself will add 
one word — beware of a surprise. You know how the Indians fight us. 
Beware of a surprise ! ' He went off with that, my last warning, 
ringing in his ears. And yet he has suffered that army to be cut to 
pieces, hacked, butchered, tomahawked by a surprise, — the very thing 
I guarded him against ! How can he answer to his country ? The 
blood of the slain is upon him, — the curse of widows and orphans ! " 
Mr. Lear, the secretary, in mIiosc presence this storm of wrath burst 
forth, sat speechless. Presently Washington grew silent. " What I 
have uttered must not go beyond this room," said he in a manner of 
great seriousness. Another pause of several minutes ensued, and then 
he continued in a low and solemn tone : " I looked at the despatches 
hastily and did not note all the particulars. General St. Clair shall 
have justice. I will receive him without displeasure, — he shall have 
full Justice." Notwithstanding his exculpation by a committee of Con- 
gress, poor St. Clair, overwhelmed with censures and reproaches, 
resigned his command and was superseded by General AYayne, Avhom 
the people had named Mad Anthony. 

The population of the Territory of Kentucky had now reached 
seventy-three thousand. Only seventeen years before, Daniel Boone, 
the hardy hunter of North Carolina, had settled with his companions 
at Boonesborough. Harrodsburg and Lexington were founded about 
the same time. During the Pevolution the pioneers were constantly 
beset by the savages. After the expedition of General Clarke, in 
1779, the frontier was more secure; and in the years following the 
treaty thousands of immigrants came annually. In the mean time, 
Virginia had relinquished her claim to the territory ; and on the 1st 
of June, 1792, Kentucky was admitted into the Union. At the presi- 
dential election, held in the autumn of the same year, Washington was 
again unanimously chosen; as Vice-President, John Adams was also 
re-elected. 

During Washington's second administration the country was 
greatly troubled in its relations with foreign governments. Europe 
was in an uproar. The French Revolution of 1789 was still running 



368 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

its dreadful course. After three years of unparalleled excesses, the Ja- 
cobins of France had beheaded the king and abolished the monarchy. 
Citizen Genet was sent by the new French republic as minister to the 
United States. On his arrival at Charleston, and on his way to Phil- 
adelphia, he was greeted with unbounded enthusiasm. Taking advan- 
tage of his popularity, the ambassador began to abuse his authority, 
fitted out privateers to prey on the commerce of Great Britain, planned 
expeditions against Louisiana, and, although the President had already 
issued a proclamation of neutrality, demanded an alliance with the 
government. Washington and the cabinet firmly refused; and the au- 
dacious minister threatened to appeal to the jjeople. In this outrageous 
conduct he was sustained and encouraged by the anti-Federal party, 
and for a while the government was endangered. But Washington 
stood unmoved, declared the course of the French minister an insult 
to the sovereignty of the United States, and demanded his recall. The 
republican authorities of France heeded the demand, and Genet was 
superseded by M. Fouchet. 

The President was also much embarrassed by dissensions in his cab- 
inet. From the beginning of his first official term the secretaries of 
state and the treasury had maintained towards each other an attitude 
of constant hostility. They had gradually become the heads of rival 
parties in the government. Hamilton's financial measures were at- 
tacked with vehement animosity by Jefferson ; and the policy of the 
latter in his relations and duties as secretary of foreign affairs was the 
subject of much bitter criticism from the former's scathing pen. The 
breach between the rivals grew wider and wider. Washington's influ- 
ence was barely sufficient to prevent the breaking up of his cabinet. 
So great Avere the abilities and so valuable the experience of the two 
secretaries that the services of neither could be spared without serious 
detriment to the government. Both officers were patriots, and both 
had insisted on Washington's reelection to the Presidency. After that 
event, however, Jefferson, in January of 1794, resigned his office and 
retired to private life at Monticello. A year later Hamilton also re- 
tired from the cabinet and was succeeded by Oliver Wolcott of Con- 
necticut. 

During the summer and autumn of 1794 the country was much 
disturbed by a difficulty in Western Pennsylvania known as the whisky 
insurrection. Hoping to improve the revenues of the government. Con- 
gress had, three years previously, imposed a tax on all ardent spirits dis- 
tilled in the United States. While Genet was at Philadelphia, he and 
his partisans incited the people of the distilling regions to resist the tax- 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 369 

collectors. The disaffected rose in arms. Washington issued two proc- 
lamations, warning the insurgents to disperse; but instead of obeying, 
they fired upon and captured the officers of the government. The Presi- 
dent then ordered General Henry Lee to enter the rebellious district wdth 
a sufficient force to restore order and enforce the law. When the troops 
reached the scene of the disturbance, the rioters had already scattered. 
The insurrection was a political rather than a social outbreak : the anti- 
Federalists were in a majority in the distilling region, and the whisky-tax 
was a measure of the Federal party. 

Meanwhile, General Wayne had broken the Miami confederacy. 
In the fall of 1793 he entered the Indian country with a force of three 
thousand men. Reaching the scene of St, Clair's defeat, he built a 
stockade named Fort Recovery, and then pressed on to the junction of 
the Au Glaize and the Maumee, in Williams county, Ohio. Here he 
built and garrisoned Fort Defiance. Descending the Maumee to the 
rapids, he sent proposals of peace to the Indians, w^ho were in council but 
a few miles distant. Little Turtle, more wise than the other chiefs, 
would have made a treaty ; but the majority M'ere for battle. On the 
20th of August Wayne marched against the savages, overtook them 
wdiere the present town of Waynesfield stands, and routed them with ter- 
rible losses. The relentless general then compelled the humbled chief- 
tains to purchase peace by ceding to the United States all the territory 
east of a line drawn from Fort Recovery to the mouth of the Great 
Miami River. This was the last service of General Wayne. Re- 
maining for a wdiile in the Indian country, he embarked on Lake 
Erie to return to Philadelphia. In December of 1796 he died on 
board the vessel, and was buried at Presque Isle. 

The conduct of Great Britain toward the United States became as 
arrogant as that of France was imjjudent. In November of 1793 George 
III. issued secret instructions to British privateers to seize all neutral 
vessels that might be found trading in the French West Indies. The 
United States had no notification of this high-handed measure; and 
American commerce to the value of many millions of dollars was swept 
from the sea by a process differing in nothing from highway robbery. 
But for the temperate spirit of the government the country would have 
been at once plunged into war. Prudence prevailed over passion ; and 
in May of 1794 Chief- Justice Jay was sent as envoy extraordinaiy to 
demand redress of the British government. Contrary to expectation, 
his mission was successful ; and in the following November an honor- 
able treaty was concluded. The terms of settlement, however, were 
exceedingly distasteful to the partisans of France in America, and they 



370 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

determined to prevent its ratification. Every argument and motive 
which ingenuity or prejudice could supply was eagerly paraded before 
the people to excite their discontent. Public meetings were held and 
excited orators harangued the multitudes. In New York a copy of 
the treaty was burned before the governor's mansion. In Philadel- 
phia there was a similar proceeding ; and the whole country was in 
an uproar. Washington, however, believing the treaty to be just in 
its main provisions, and earnestly desiring that war might be avoided, 
favored ratification. The majority in the Senate remained unmoved, 
and finally in the latter part of June, 1795, the terms of settlement 
were duly ratified, and signed by the President. It was specified in 
the treaty that Great Britain should make ample reparation for the 
injuries done by her privateers, and surrender to the United States 
certain Western posts which until now had been held by English gar- 
risons. Thus was the threatened war averted. 

In October of 1795 the boundary between the United States and 
Louisiana was settled by a treaty with Spain. The latter country at the 
same time guaranteed to the Americans the free navigation of the Mis- 
sissippi. Less honorable was the treaty made with the kingdom of 
Algiers. For a long time Algerine pirates had infested the Mediter- 
ranean, preying upon the commerce of civilized nations; and those 
nations, in order to purchase exemption from such ravages, had adopted 
the ruinous policy of paying the dey of Algiers an annual tribute. In 
consideration of the tribute the dey agreed that his pirate ships should 
confine themselves to the Mediterranean, and should not attack the vessels 
of such nations as made the payment. Now, however, with the purpose 
of injuring France, Great Britain winked at an agreement with the dey 
by which the Algerine sea-robbers were turned loose on the Atlantic. 
By their depredations American commerce suffered greatly ; and the 
government of the United States was obliged to purchase safety by 
paying the shameful tribute. 

In the summer of 1796, Tennessee, the third new State, was 
organized and admitted into the Union. Six years previously North 
Carolina had surrendered her claims to the territory, which at that time 
contained a population of thirty-five thousand ; and within five years the 
number was more than doubled. The first inhabitants of Tennessee were 
of that hardy race of pioneers to whom the perils of the wilderness are as 
nothing provided the wilderness is free. By the addition of the two 
States south-west of the Ohio more than eighty-three thousand square 
miles of territory were brought under the dominion of civilization. 

Nothing in history is more surprising than the ascendency which 



WASHINGTON'S ADMINISTRATION. 371 

"Washington, unto the end of his official career, continued to exercise 
over the minds of his countrymen. In the House of Representatives, 
during the last two sessions, there had been a clear majority against 
him and his policy; and yet the House continued its support of his 
measures. Even the provisions necessary to carry into effect the hated 
treaty with Great Britain were made by that body, though the vote 
was close. So powerful were the President's views in determining 
the actions of the people that JeiFerson, Avriting to Monroe at Paris, 
said : " Congress has adjourned. You will see by their proceedings 
the truth of what I always told you, namely, that one man outweighs 
them all in influence over the people, who support his judgment against 
their own and that of their representatives. Republicanism resigns the 
vessel to its pilot." 

Washington was solicited to become a candidate for a third elec- 
tion to the presidency ; but he would not. His resolution had already 
been made to end his public career. With the Father of his Country 
the evening of life drew on, and rest was necessary. Accordingly, in 
September of 1796, he issued to the people of the United States his 
Farewell Address — a document crowded with precepts of political 
wisdom, prudent counsels, and chastened patriotism.'*^ As soon as the 
President's determination was made known the political parties mar- 
shaled their forces and put forward their champions, John Adams ap- 
pearing as the candidate of the Federal, and Thomas Jeiferson of the 
anti-Federal party. Antagonism to the Constitution, which had thus 
far been the chief question between the parties, now gave place to 
another issue — whether it was the true policy of the United States to 
enter into intimate relations with the republic of France. The anti- 
Federalists said. Yes ! that all republics have a common end, and that 
Great Britain was the enemy of them all. The Federalists said. No ! 
that the American republic must mark out an independent course 
among the nations, and avoid all foreign alliances. On that issue Mr. 
Adams was elected, but Mr. Jefferson, having the next highest- num- 
ber of votes, became Vice-President ; for according to the old provis- 
ion of the Constitution, the person who stood second on the list was 
declared the second officer in the government. 

* See Appendix G. 



372 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER XLVII 



ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 1797-1801. 

JOHN ADAMS, second President of the United States, was born in 
the town of Braintree, Massachusetts, October 19th, 1735. He was a 
great-grandson of that Henry Adams who, emigrating from Great Brit- 
ain in 1.640, founded in America a family made famous by many illus- 
trious names. Eight 
^^^:^"^-N sons of the elder 

Adams settled around 
Massachusetts Bay, 
the grandfather of the 
President in that part 
of Braintree after- 
wards called Quincy. 
The father of John 
Adams was a Puritan 
deacon, a selectman 
of the town, a farmer 
of small means, and a 
shoemaker. The son 
received a classical ed- 
ucation, being gradu- 
ated at the age of 
twenty from Harvard 
College. For a while 
he taught school, but 
finding that vocation 
to be, as he expressed 
it, a school of affliction, he turned his attention to the study of law. In 
this profession he soon became eminent, removed to Boston, engaged 
with great zeal in the controversy with the mother country, and was 
quickly recognized as an able leader of public opinion. From this 
time forth his services were in constant demand both in his native 
State and in the several colonial Congresses. He was a member of 
the celebrated committee appointed to draft the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and in the debates on that instrument was its chief defender. 




JOHN ADAMS. 



ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 373 

During the last years of the Revolution he served his country as 
ambassador to France, Holland, and Great Britain, being the first 
minister to that country after the recognition of American independ- 
ence. From this important station he returned in 1788, and was soon 
afterwards elected Vice-President under the new frame of government. 
After serving in this office for eight years, he was chosen as the suc- 
cessor of Washington. 

On the 4th of March, 1797, President Adams was inaugurated. 
From the beginning his administration was embarrassed by a power- 
ful and well-organized opposition. Adet, the French minister, made 
inflammatory appeals to the people, and urged the government to 
conclude a league with France against Great Britain. When the 
President and Congress stood firmly on the doctrine of neutrality, 
the French Directory grew insolent, and began to demand an alli- 
ance. The treaty which Mr. Jay had concluded with England was 
especially complained of by the partisans of France. On the 10th 
of March the Directory issued instructions to French men-of-war to 
assail the commerce of the United States. Soon afterward Mr. Pinck- 
ney, the American minister, was ordered to leave the territory of 
France. 

These proceedings were equivalent to a declaration of war. The 
President convened Congress in extraordinary session, and measures 
were devised for repelling the aggressions of the French. Elbridge 
Gerry and John Marshall were directed to join Mr. Pinckney in a 
final effort for a peaceable adjustment of the difficulties. But the 
effort was fruitless. The Directory of France refused to receive the 
ambassadors except upon condition that they would pledge the pay- 
ment into the French treasury of a quarter of a million of dollars. 
Pinckney answered with the declaration that the United States had 
milUons for defence, but not a cent for tribute. The envoys were then 
ordered to leave the country ; but Gerry, who was an anti-Federalist, 
was permitted to remain. These events occupied the summer and fall 
of 1797. 

In the beginning of the next year an act was passed by Con- 
gress completing the organization of the army. Washington was called 
from the retirement of his old age and appointed commander-in-chief. 
Hamilton was chosen first major-general. A navy of six frigates, be- 
sides privateers, had been provided for at the session of the previous 
year; and a national loan had been authorized. The patriotism of 
the people was thoroughly aroused ; the treaties with France were de- 
clared void, and vigorous preparations were made for the impending 



374 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

war. The American frigates put to sea, and in the summer and fall 
of 1799 did good service for the commerce of the country. Commo- 
dore Truxtun, in the ship Constellation, won distinguished honors. On 
the 9th of February, while cruising in the West Indies, he attacked 
the Insurgent, a French man-of-war carrying forty guns and more than 
four hundred seamen. A desperate engagement ensued ; and Truxtun, 
though inferior in cannons and men, gained a complete victory. A 
year later he overtook another frigate, called the Vengeance, and after 
a five hours' battle in the night would have captured his antagonist 
but for a storm and the darkness. These events added greatly to the 
renown of the American flag. 

The organization of the provisional army was soon completed. 
The commander-in-chief repaired to Philadelphia and' remained five 
weeks with Generals Hamilton and Pinckney, superintending the 
work. Such measures were taken as were deemed adequate to the 
defence of the nation, and then Washington retired to Mount Ver- 
non, leaving the greater jDart of the responsibility to be l^orne by 
Hamilton. The news of these warlike proceedings was soon carried 
to France, and the shrewd Talleyrand, minister of foreign affairs for 
the French republic, seeing that his dismissal of Mr. Monroe and 
General Pinckney had given mortal offence to the American people, 
managed to signify to Vans Murray, ambassador of the United States 
to Holland, that if President Adams would send another minister to 
Paris he would be cordially received. Murray immediately transmit- 
ted this hint to the President, who caught eagerly at this opportunity 
to extricate the country from apprehended war. On the 18th of Feb- 
ruary he transmitted a message to the Senate nominating Mr. Murray 
himself as minister plenipotentiary to the French republic. The nom- 
ination was confirmed, and the ambassador was authorized to proceed at 
once to France. It was also agreed by the Senate that two other per- 
sons should be added to the embassy ; and Oliver Ellsworth and Will- 
iam R. Davie were accordingly commissioned to proceed to Amsterdam 
and join Murray in his important mission to the French capital. 

Meanwhile, Napoleon Bonaparte had overthrown the Directory 
of France and made himself first consul of the republic. More wise 
and politic than his associates in the government, he immediately 
sought peace Avith the the United States. For he saw clearly enough 
that the impending war would, if prosecuted, inevitably result in an 
alliance between America and England — a thing most unfavorable to 
the interests of France. He was also confident that peaceful overtures 
on his part would be met with favor. The three American ambassa- 



ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 875 

dors — Murray, Ellsworth and Davie — reached Paris, after many delays, 
in the beginning of March, 1800. Negotiations were at once opened, 
and, in the following September, were happily terminated with a treaty 
of peace. In all his relations with the United States Napoleon acted the 
part of a consistent and honorable ruler. 

Before the war-cloud was scattered America was called to mourn 
the loss of Washington. On the 14th of December, 1799, after an illness 
of only a day, the venerated chieftain passed from among the living. All 
hearts were touched with sorrow. The people put on the garb of mourn- 
ing. Congress went in funeral procession to the German Lutheran church, 
where General Henry Lee, the personal friend of Washington, delivered 
a touching and eloquent oration. Throughout the civilized world the 
memory of the great dead was honored with appropriate ceremonies. To 
the legions of France the event was announced by Bonaparte, who paid 
a beautiful tribute to the virtues of " the warrior, the legislator and the 
citizen without reproach." As the body of Washington was laid in the 
sepulchre, the voice of partisan malignity that had not hesitated to assail 
his name was hushed into everlasting silence; and the world with un- 
covered head agreed with Lord Byron in declaring the illustrious dead to 
have been among warriors, statesmen and patriots 

" The first, the last, the best, 

The Cincinxatus of the West." 

The administration of Adams and the eighteenth century drew to a 
close together. In spite of domestic dissensions and foreign alarms, the 
new republic Avas growing strong and influential. The census of 1800 
showed that the population of the country, including the black men, had 
increased to over six millions. The seventy-five post-offices reported by 
the census of 1790 had been multiplied to nine hundred and three; the 
exports of the United States had grown from twenty millions to nearly 
seventy-one millions of dollars. The permanency of the Constitution as 
the supreme law of the land was now cheerfully recognized. In Decem- 
ber of 1800 Congress for the first time assembled in Washington city, the 
new capital of the nation. Virginia and Maryland had ceded to the 
United States the District of Columbia, a tract ten miles square lying on 
both sides of the Potomac ; but the part given by Virginia was afterward 
re-ceded to that State. The city which was designed as the seat of govern- 
ment was laid out in 1792; and in 1800 the population numbered be- 
tAveen eight and nine thousand. 

With prudent management and unanimity the Federal party might 
have retained control of the government. But there were dissensions in 



376 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mr. Adams's cabinet. Much of the recent legislation of Congress had 
been unwise and unpopular. The alien law, by which the President was 
authorized to send out of the country any foreigners whose presence 
should be considered prejudicial to the interests of the United States, was 
specially odious. The sedition law, which punished Avith fine and im- 
prisonment the freedom of speech and of the press when directed abusively 
against the government, was denounced by the opposition as an act of 
tyranny. Partisan excitement ran high. Mr. Adams and Mr. Charles 
C. Pinckney were put forward as the candidates of the Federalists, and 
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr of the Republicans or Democrats. The 
latter were triumphant. In the electoral college Jefferson and Burr each 
received seventy-three votes; Adams, sixty-five; and Pinckney, sixty-four. 
In order to decide between the Democratic candidates, the election was re- 
ferred to the House of Representatives. After thirty-five ballotings, the 
choice fell on Jefferson ; and Burr, who was now second on the list, was 
declared Vice-President. After controlling the government for twelve 
years, the Federal party passed from power, never to be restored. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 

JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1S01-1S09. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON was born in the county of Albemarle, 
Virginia, on the 2d of April, 1743. Of his ancestry, history has 
preserved no record other than the name of his father, Colonel Peter 
Jefferson, a man noted for native abilities and force of character. The 
son found excellent advantages of early training in the private school 
of an exiled Scottish clergyman, and afterwards completed his educa- 
tion at William and Mary College. He then entered upon the study 
of law, and soon rose to distinction. Like his predecessor in the pres- 
idential office, he became in his early manhood deeply absorbed in the 
controversy with the mother country, and by his radical views in the 
House of Burgesses contributed much to fix forever the sentiments of 
that body against the arbitrary measures of the English ministry. 

From the councils of his native State Jefferson was soon called 
to the councils of the nation. His coming was anxiously awaited in 
the famous Congress of 1776 ; for his fame as a thinker and a demo- 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRA TIOK 



377 



crat had preceded him. To his pen and brain the almost exchisive 
authorship of the great Declaration must be awarded. During the 
struggles of the Revolution he was among the most distinguished and 
uncompromising of the patriot leaders. After the war was over, he 
was sent abroad wi<;h 

Adams and Franklin —3^=^-—- - 

to negotiate treaties 
of amity and com- 
merce with the Eu- 
ropean nations, and 
was then appointed 
minister plenipoten- 
tiary of the new 
Republic to France. 
From this high trust 
he was recalled to 
become secretary of 
state under Wash- 
ington; in 1796 was 
elected Vice - Presi - 
dent, and in 1800 
President of the 
United States. The 
American decimal 
system of coinage, 
the statute for relig- 
ious freedom, the . Declaration of Independence, the University of 
Virginia, and the presidency of the Union are the immutable foun- 
dations of his fame. 

At the bearinnino; of his administration Mr. Jefferson transferred 
the chief offices of the government to members of the Democratic 
party. This policy had in some measure been adopted by his prede- 
cessor; but the principle was now made universal. Such action was 
justified by the adherents of the President on the ground that the 
affairs of a republic will be best administered when the officers hold 
the same political sentiments. One of the first acts of Congress was 
to abolish the system of internal revenues. The unpopular laws against 
foreigners and the freedom of the press were also repealed. But the 
territorial legislation of Jefferson's first term was most important of 
all. 

In the year 1800 a line was drawn through the North-west 




T:I(J^rAS jeffersox. 



378 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Territory from the mouth of the Great Miami River to Fort Recovery, 
and thence to Canada. Two years afterward the country east of this 
line was erected into the State of Ohio and admitted into the Union. 
The portion west of the line, embracing the present States of Indi- 
ana, Illinois, Wisconsin and a part of Michigan, was organized under 
the name of the Indiana Territory. Vincennes was the capital ; 
and General William Henry Harrison received the appointment of 
governor. About the same time the organization of the Mississippi 
Territory, extending from the western limits of Georgia to the great 
river, was completed. Thus another grand and fertile district of a 
hundred thousand square miles Avas reclaimed from barbarism. 

More important still was the purchase of Louisiana. In 1800 
Napoleon had compelled Spain to make a secret cession of this vast 
territory to France. The First Consul then prepared to send an army 
to New Orleans for the purpose of establishing his authority. But 
the government of the United States remonstrated against such a pro- 
ceeding ; France was threatened with multiplied Avars at home ; and 
Bonaparte, seeing the difficulty of maintaining a colonial empire at so 
great a distance, authorized his minister to dispose of Louisiana by 
sale. The President appointed Mr. Livingston -and James Monroe 
to negotiate the purchase. On the 30th of April, 1803, the terms of 
transfer Avere agreed on by the agents of the two nations ; and for the 
sum of eleven million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Louisi- 
ana was ceded to the United States.* In another convention, Avhich 
Avas signed on the same day, it Avas agreed that the government of 
the United States should assume the payment of certain debts due 
from France to American citizens ; but the sum thus assumed should 
not, inclusive of interest, exceed three million seven hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars. Thus did the vast domain Avest of the Mississippi, 
embracing an area of more than a million square miles, pass under 
the dominion of the United States. 

Four nations — France, the United States, Great Britain, and 
Spain — Avere concerned in determining the boundaries of the ceded 
territory. In regard to the eastern limit, all Avere agreed that it 
should be the Mississippi from its source to the thirty-first parallel 
of latitude. On the south-east the boundary claimed by the United 
States, Great Britain, and France, Avas the thirty-first parallel from 
the Mississippi to the Appalachicola, and down that riA^er to the Gulf. 

■•■■ Bonaparte accepted in payment six per cent, bonds of tlie United States, payable 
fifteen years after date. He also agreed not to sell the bonds at such a price as would 
degrade the credit of the American government. 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 379 

From this line, however, Spain dissented, claiming the Iberville and 
Lakes Manrepas and Pontchartrain as the true limit between Louisi- 
ana and her possessions in West Florida ; but she was obliged, after 
fruitlessly protesting, to yield to the decision of her rivals. On the 
south, by the consent of all, the boundary was the Gulf of INIexico as 
far Avest as the mouth of the Sabine. The south-western limit was 
established along the last named river as far as the thirty-first paral- 
lel ; thence due north to Red River ; up that stream to the one-hun- 
dredth meridian from Greenwich ; thence north again to the Arkan- 
sas; thence w^ith that river to the mountains; and thence north with 
the mountain chain to the forty-second parallel of latitude. Thus far 
all four of the nations were agreed. But the United States, Great 
Britain, and France — again coinciding — claimed the extension of the 
boundary along the forty-second parallel to the Pacific Ocean ; and to 
this extension Spain, for several years, refused her assent; but in the 
treaty of 1819 her objections were formally withdrawn. In fixing the 
northern boundary only the LTnited States and Great Britain were 
concerned ; and the forty-ninth parallel from the I^ake of the Woods 
to the Pacific was established as the international line.''^ 

The purchase of Louisiana Avas the greatest event of Jefferson's 
administration. Out of the southern portion of the new acquisition 
the Tereitory of Orleans was organized, with the same limits as 
the present State of Louisiana ; the rest of the vast tract continued 
to be called the Territory of Louisiana. The possession of the 
Mississippi was no longer a matter of dispute. Very justly did Mr. 
Livingston say to the French minister as they arose from signing the 
treaty: "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our 
whole lives." 

Two years previous to these events John Marshall had been 
nominated and confirmed as chief-justice of the United States. His 
appointment marks an epoch in the history of the country. In the 
colonial times the English constitution and common law had pre- 

■■• See Map VII. The discussion of the boundaries of Louisiana is thus fully given 
because of the many statements, needlessly contradictory, which have been made on 
the subject. Between the years 1803 and 1819 there was some ground for controversy, 
but since the latter date none whatever — except as to the northern line. For all the 
facts tending to elucidate the subject, see American State Papers; topics: Treaty of 
Paris, 1763; Definitive Treaty between Great Britain and the United States, 1783; Text 
of the Louisiana Cession, 1803; Boundary Conventions between tlie United States and 
Great Britain, 1818 and 1846; Treaty of Washington, 1819. See also Walker's Statis- 
tical Atlas of the United States; subject: Areas and Political Divisions, pp. 2 and 3; and 
the Americaii Cyclopcedia, ; article: Louisiana. 



380 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



vailed in America, and judicial decisions were based exclusively on 
precedents established in English courts. AVhen, in 1789, the new 
republic Avas organized, it became necessary to modify to a certain 
extent the principles of jurisprudence and to adapt them to the al- 
tered theory of gov- 
ernment. In some 
measure this great 
work was undertak- 
en by Chief-Justice 
Jay; but he was a 
great statesman ra- 
ther than a great 
judge. It remained 
for Chief- Justice 
Marshall to estab- 
lish on a firm and 
enduring basis the 
noble structure of 
American law. For 
thirty-five years he 
remained in his high 
office, bequeathing 
to after times a great 



number of valuable 
decisions, in which 
the principles of the 
jurisprudence of the United States are set forth with unvarying clear- 
ness and invincible logic. 

The Mediterranean pirates still annoyed American merchantmen. 
All of the Barbary States — as the Moorish kingdoms of Northern Af- 
rica are called — had adopted the plan of extorting annual tributes 
from the European nations. The emperors of Morocco, Algiers and 
Tripoli became especially arrogant. In 1803 the government of the 
United States despatched Commodore Preble to the Mediterranean to 
protect American commerce and punish the hostile powers. The ar- 
mament proceeded first against Morocco; but the frigate PhUadeJphia, 
commanded by Captain Bainbridge, was sent directly to Tripoli. When 
nearing his destination, Bainbridge gave chase to a pirate which fled 
for safety to the batteries of the harbor. The PhUadeJphia, in close 
pursuit, ran upon a reef of rocks near the shore, became unmanage- 
able, and was captured by the Tripolitans. The crew and officers 




CHIEF-JUSTICE JIAUSIIALL. 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 381 

were taken ; the latter were treated with some respect, but the former 
were enslaved. The emperor Yusef and his barbarous subjects were 
greatly elated at their unexpected success. 

In the following February Captain Decatur recaptured the Pliil- 
addphia in a marvelous manner. Sailing from Sicily in a small ves- 
sel called the Intrepid, he came at nightfall in sight of the harbor of 
Tripoli, where the Philadelphia was moored. The Intrepid, being a 
Moorish ship which the American fleet had captured, was either un- 
seen or unsuspected by the Tripolitans. As darkness settled on the 
sea, Decatur steered his course into the harbor, slipped alongside of 
the Philadelphia, lashed the two ships together, sprang on deck with 
his daring crew of only seventy-four men, and killed or drove over- 
board every Moor on the vessel. In a moment the frigate was fired, 
for it was the purpose to destroy her ; then Decatur and his men, es- 
caping from the flames, returned to the Intrepid and sailed out of the 
harbor amid a storm of balls from the Tripolitan batteries. Not a 
man of Decatur's gallant band was lost, and only four were wounded. 

In the last of July, 1804, Commodore Preble arrived with his 
fleet at Tripoli and began a blockade and siege which lasted till the 
following spring. The town was frequently bombarded, and several 
Moorish vessels were destroyed ; but not even the pounding of Amer- 
ican cannon-balls was sufficient to bring Yusef to terms. In the mean- 
time, however, it was ascertained that the services of Hamet, Yusef 's 
elder brother, the deposed sovereign of Tripoli, might be secured to 
aid in reducing; the barbarians to submission. Hamet was at this time 
in Upper Egypt, commanding an army of Mamelukes in a war against 
the Turks. To him General William Eaton, the American consul at 
Tunis, was despatched with proposals of an alliance against the usurp- 
ing Yusef. Hamet eagerly accepted the overture, and furnished Gen- 
eral Eaton with a fine body of Arab cavalry and seventy Greek soldiers. 
With this force the American commander set out from Alexandria on 
the 5th of :March, 1805. He traversed the Desert of Barca for a thou- 
sand miles, and on the 25th of April reached Derne, one of Yusef 's 
eastern sea-ports. Yusef himself was already approaching with an 
army; and General Eaton found it necessary to storm the town. A 
division of the American fleet arrived in the harbor at the fortunate 
moment and aided in the work. The place was gallantly carried. 
The assaulting column was made up of Arab cavalry, Greek infantry, 
Tripolitan rebels, ajid American sailors serving on land ! The Stars 
and Stripes never before or since waved over so motley an assem- 
blage ! Yusef, alarmed at the dangers which menaced him by sea 



382 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and land, made hasty overtures for peace. His offers were accepted by IVIr. 
Lear, the American consul-general for the Barbary States ; and a treaty 
was concluded on the 4th of June, 1805.* For several years thereafter 
the flag of the United States was respected in the Mediterranean. 

In the summer of 1804 the country was shocked by the intelligence 
that Vice-President Burr had killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. As 
the first term of Mr. Jefferson drew to a close, Burr foresaw that the 
President would be renominated, and that he himself would not be re- 
nominated. Still, he had his eye on the j^residency, and Avas determined 
not to be baffled. Pie therefore, while holding the office of Vice-Presi- 
dent, became a candidate for governor of New York. From that posi- 
tion he would pass to the presidency at the close of Jefferson's second 
term. But Hamilton's powerful influence in New York prevented Burr's 
election ; and his presidential ambition received a stunning blow. From 
that day he determined to kill the man whom he pretended to regard as 
the destroyer of his hopes. He accordingly sought a quarrel Avith Hamil- 
ton ; challenged him ; met him at WeehaAvken, opposite New York, on 
the morning of the 11th of July, and deliberately murdered him; for 
Hamilton had tried to avoid the challenge, and Avhen face to face with 
his antagonist refused to fire. Thus under the savage and abominable 
custom of dueling the brightest intellect in America was put out in 
darkness. 

In the autumn of 1804 Jefferson Avas re-elected President. For 
Vice-President George Clinton of New York was chosen in place of 
Burr. In the following year that part of the North-Avestern Territory 
called Wayne county was organized under a separate territorial govern- 
ment with the name of Michigan. In the same spring. Captains Lewis 
and Clarke, acting under orders of the President, set out from the falls 
of the Missouri River with a party of thirty-five soldiers and hunters to 
cross the Eocky Mountains and explore Oregon. Not until November 
did they reach their destination. For two years, through forests of gigantic 
pines, along the banks of unknoAvn rivers and down to the shores of the 
Pacific, did they continue their explorations. After Avandering among 
unheard-of tribes of barbarians, encountering grizzly bears more ferocious 
than Bengal tigers, escaping perils by forest and flood, and traversing a 
route of six thousand miles, the hardy adventurers, Avith the loss of but 
one man, returned to civilization, bringing ncAV ideas of the vast domains 
of the AYest. 

* It is a matter of astonishment that Lear agreed to pay Yusef sixty thousand dollars 
for the liberation of American slaves : their liberation ought to have been compelled— 
and might have been if Lear had said so. 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 383 

After the death of Hamilton, Burr fled from popular indignation 
and sought refuge in the South. At the opening of the next session of 
Congress he returned to the capital, and presided over the Senate until 
the expiration of his term of office. Then he delivered his valedictory, 
went to the West, and, after traveling through several States, took up his 
residence with an Irish exile named Harman Blannerhassett, who had 
laid out an estate and built a splendid mansion on an island in the Ohio, 
just below the mouth of the Muskingum. Here Burr made a wicked 
and treasonable scheme against the peace and happiness of tlie country. 
His plan was to raise a sufficient military force, invade Mexico, wrest that 
country from the Spaniards, detach the Western and Southern States from 
the Union, make himself dictator of a South-western empire, and perhaps 
subvert the government of the United States. For two years he labored 
to perfect his plans. But his purposes were suspected. In accordance 
with a proclamation of the President, the military preparations at Blau- 
nerhassett's Island were broken up; and in February of 1807 Burr him- 
self was arrested in Alabama and taken to Richmond to be tried on a 
charge of treason. Chief-Justice Marshall presided at the trial, and Burr 
conducted his own defence. The verdict was, " Not guilty, for want of 
sufficient proof." But his escajae was so narrow that under an assumed 
name he fled from the country. Returning a few years afterward, he re- 
sumed the practice of law in New York, lived to extreme old age, and 
died alone in abject poverty. 

During Jeflerson's second administration the country was con- 
stantly agitated by the aggressions of the British navy on American com- 
merce. England and France Avere engaged in deadly and continuous war. 
In order to cripple the resources of their enemy, the British authorities 
struck blow after blow against the trade between France and foreign 
nations; and Napoleon retaliated with equal energy and vindictiveness 
against the commerce of Great Britain. The measures adopted by the 
two powers took the form of blockade — that is, the surrounding of each 
other's ports with men-of-war to prevent the ingress and egress of neutral 
sliips. By such means the commerce of the United States, which had 
grown vast and valuable while the European nations were fighting, was 
greatly injured and distressed. 

In May of 1806 England declared the whole coast of France from 
Brest to the Elbe to be in a state of blockade. Neutral nations had no 
warning. Many American vessels, approaching the French ports, were 
seized and condemned as prizes ; all this, too, while the harbors of France 
were not actually, but only declared^ to be, blockaded. In the following 
November Bonaparte issued a decree blockading the British isles. Again 



384 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the unsuspecting merchantmen of the United States were subjected to 
seizure, this time by the cruisers of France. In January of the next 
year the government of Great Britain retaliated by an act prohibiting 
the French coasting-trade. Every one of these measures was in fla- 
grant violations of the laws of nations. The belligerent powers had 
no right to take such steps toward each other ; as to neutral States, 
their rights were utterly disregarded ; and the nation that suffered 
most was the United States. 

In addition to these causes of complaint an old crime against 
international law had, in the mean time, been revived by the Eng- 
lish government, to the great distress of American commerce. At the 
outbreak of the French and Indian War George II. had issued an edict 
forbidding; the vessels of neutral nations to trade with the colonies of 
France or the provinces of any other country with which Great Brit- 
ain might be at war. The offences committed under the authority of 
this arbitrary decree, which was known as the Rule of 1756, had 
been greatly injurious to the commerce of the colonies, and during 
Washington's administration had occasioned many complaints and re- 
monstrances. But in June of 1801, in a treaty between Great Britain 
and Russia, the former government assented to such a modification of 
the Rule as rendered it comparatively harmless. The effect of this 
modification was exceedingly beneficial to neutral nations, especially 
to America. Between the years 1803 and 1806 the foreign carrying- 
trade of the United States was increased nearly fivefold, while that of 
England fell off in a nearly corresponding ratio. Vexed and morti- 
fied at this result, and caring little for justice if the supremacy of the 
British merchant-marine could be maintained, the ministry, in the 
summer of 1805, revived the old edict in full force, and impudently 
asserted that it was a part of the Imo of nations! The result, as had 
been clearly foreseen by the English lords of trade who contrived the 
measure, was that American merchantmen trading largely with the 
dependencies of France and Spain, were driven from the ocean, and 
the commerce of the United States shrank suddenly into insignifi- 
cance. 

Finally Great Britain aggravated her injustice by a still more 
arrogant and unwarrantable procedure. The English theory of citi- 
zenship is, that whoever is born in England remains through life a 
subject of the British Empire. The privilege of an Englishman to 
expatriate himself — that is, the right to go abroad, to throw off his 
allegiance to the British crown, and to assume the obligations of citi- 
zenship in another nation — is absolutely denied. Under this iron rule 
of " once an Englishman, always an Englishman," the British cruisers 



JEFFERSON'S ADMINISTBA TION. 385 

were from time to time authorized to search American vessels and to 
take therefrom all persons suspected of being subjects of Qreat Brit- 
ain. One of the chief objects had in view in this iniquitous business 
was to prevent the emigration of the Irish to the United States. The 
impulsive sons of the Emerald Isle, hearing of the free institutions and 
boundless prospects of America, were flocking hither in great num- 
bers, and something must be done to stop the movement. George JII. 
and his advisers therefore marshaled forth their despotic theory of cit- 
izenship and set it up like a death's-head at every port of the British 
Isles. Inasmuch as every Irishman or Scotchman who ventured on 
board an American vessel would expose himself to the peril of seizure 
and impressment, it was, with good reason, believed that not many 
Avould take the fearful risk. And the apprehensions of the emigrants 
were well founded; for all those who had the misfortune to be over- 
taken at sea werej without inquiry, impressed as marines in the Eng- 
lish navy. To crowd the decks of their men-of-war with unwilling 
recruits, torn from home and friends, was the end which the British 
king and ministry were willing to reach at whatever sacrifice of na- 
tional honor. Finally to these general wrongs was added a special act 
of violence which kindled the indignation of the Americans to the 
highest pitch. 

On the 22d of June, 1807, a frigate, named the Chesapeake which 
had just sailed out of the bay of the same name, was approached by a 
British man-of-war, called the Leopard. The frigate was hailed; Brit- 
ish officers came on board as friends, and then, to the astonishment of 
Commodore Barron, who commanded the Chesapeake, made a demand 
to search the vessel for deserters. The demand was indignantly re- 
fused and the ship cleared for action. But before the guns could be 
gotten in readiness, the Leopard poured in several destructive broad- 
sides and compelled a surrender. Four men were taken from the 
captured ship, three of whom proved to be American citizens; the 
fourth, who was an actual deserter, was tried by the British naval 
officers and hanged. The government of Great Britain disavowed 
the outrage of the L^eopard, and promised reparation; but the prom- 
ise was never fulfilled. 

The President at once issued a proclamation forbidding British 
ships of war to enter the harbors of the United States. Still, there 
was no reparation; and on the 21st of December Congress passed the 
celebrated Embargo Act. By its provisions all American vessels 
were detained in the ports of the United States. The object was, by 
cutting off" commercial intercourse with France and Great Britain, tO' 
compel them to recognize the rights of American neutrality. But the 



386 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



measure was of little avail ; and after fourteen months the embargo 
act was repealed/'' Meanwhile, in November of 1808, the British 
government outdid all previous proceedings by issuing an " order in 
council," prohibiting all trade with France and her allies. And Napo- 
leon, not to be outdone, issued his famous "Milan decree," forbidding 
all commerce with England and her colonies. Between these outra- 
geous acts of foreign nations and the American embargo, the com- 
merce of the United States was well-nigh crushed out of existence! 

While the country was distracted with these troubles Robert Ful- 
ton was building the first steamboat. This event exercised a vast 

influence on the fu- 
ture de^'tlopment of 
the nation. It Avas 
of the first impor- 
tance to the people 
of the inland States 
that their great riv- 
ers should be enliv- 
ened with rapid and 
regular navigation. 
This, without the ap- 
plication of steam, 
was impossible ; and 
this Fulton success- 
fully accomplished. 
Indeed, the steam- 
boat was the harbin- 
ger of a new era in 
civilization. Fulton 
was an Irishman by 
descent and a Penn- 
sylvanian by birth. His education was meagre and imperfect. In 
his boyhood he became a painter of miniatures at Philadelphia. His 
friends sent him to London to receive instruction from Benjamin 
West; but his tastes led him to the useful rather than to tlie fine 
arts. From London he went to Paris, where he became acquainted 
with Chancellor Livingston ; and there he conceived the project of 
applying- steam to the purposes of navigation. Peturning to New 
York, he began the construction of a steamboat in East River. When 

* The embargo act was the subject of much ridicule. The opponents of the measure 
spelling the word backward, called it the Grab me act. 




UOBEUT FULTON. 



JEFFERSON' S . ADMINISTRA TION. 387 

the ungainly craft Avas completed and brought around to the Jersey 
side of the city, Fulton invited his friends to go on board and enjoy 
a trip to Albany. It was the 2d of September, 1807. The incredu- 
lous crowds stood staring on the shore. The Avord was given, and the 
boat did not move. Fulton went below. Again the word was given, 
and this time the boat moved. On the next day the happy company 
reached Albany. For many years this first rude steamer, called the 
Clermont, plied the Hudson. The old methods of river navigation 
were revolutionized. 

But the inventive genius of Fulton was by no means satisfied 
with the great achievement. For years his thoughts had been busy 
with another project which was considered by himself of greater value 
and importance to the future interests of mankind than the steamboat. 
His object was to produce some kind of an engine, so destructive to 
ships as to banish iiaval icarfare by making it possible for any one to 
destroy the most formidable vessels which could be constructed. Finally 
his plans were maturedj and the result was the invention of that sub- 
marine bomb, called the Torpedo, which has played so important a 
part in the bay and river battles of modern times. This terrible ma- 
chine is as distinctly and certainly the fruit of Fulton's brain as is 
steam navigation itself; but the result has hardly met the expectations 
of the inventor. As early as 1804, having completed the invention at 
Paris, he offered it successively to the governments of France, Hol- 
land, and Great Britain ; but neither nation would accept the patron- 
age of so dangerous an engine. In England a public demonstration 
of its destructive effects was given in the presence of British states- 
men and men of science.''^ On the 15th of October, in Walmer Roads, 
within sight of the residence of William Pitt, the Danish brig Doro- 
thea, which had been given by the government for that purpose, was 
blown to atoms on the first trial. But, although the success of the 
torpedo was manifest, the English ministry refused to accept the in- 
vention on the ground that Great Britain, already mistress of the seas, 
did not need torpedoes, and that tlieir use by other nations would de- 
stroy her supremacy. Logic of habitual selfishness! In 1807, and 
again in 1810, Fulton offered his invention to the United States, and 
in the latter year received an appropriation of five thousand dollars 
for further experiments. Such was the terror inspired by the torpedo 
that, although it was not very successfully used in the war that ensued, 
the British cruisers were notably shy of the American coast, and many 
a sea-port town was saved from destruction. 

■■■ Colonel Congreve, inventor of the " Congreve Kocket," was present on the occasion. 



388 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Jefferson's administration drew to a close. The territorial area 
of the United States had been vastly extended. Burr's wicked and 
dangerous conspiracy had come to naught. Pioneers were pouring 
into the valley of the Mississippi. Explorers had crossed the mount- 
ains of the great "West. The woods by the river-shores resounded 
with the cry of steam. But the foreign relations of the United States 
were troubled and gloomy. There were forebodings of war. The 
President, following the example of Washington, declined a third 
election, and was succeeded in his high office by James Madison of 
Virginia. For Vice-President George Clinton was re-elected. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION, AND WAR OF 1S12. 

JAMES MADISON, fourth President of the United States, was born 
at King George, Virginia, on the 16th of March, 1751. He was 
educated first in a private school and afterwards at Princeton College, 
where he Avas graduated at the age of twenty. Devoting himself to 
the profession of the law, he found time for extensive reading and a 
profound study of morals, metaphysics, and polite literature. From 
these pursuits, so congenial to his disposition, his sterling patriotism 
called him to take an active part in the struggles of the Revolution. 
In the councils of his own State and afterwards in the Continental 
Congress his influence was marked and powerful. But of all the pa- 
triot leaders Madison had the calmest and least aggressive spirit. Not 
by oratory and vehemence of passion, but by philosophy and cogent 
argument, did he mould the opinions of his fellow-men. It was he 
who, in 1786, secured the passage by the legislature of Virginia of 
the resolution, suggested by Washington, calling for a convention of 
the States at Annapolis — a work wliich resulted in the formation of 
the Federal Constitution. Afterwards, with Hamilton and Jay, he 
defended that great instrument in the Federalist; but with the new 
division of parties, his views underwent a change and he joined him- 
self with the JeflPersonian school of statesmen. For eight years he 
held the office of secretary of state ; and on the 4th of March, 1809, 
was inaugurated as Jefferson's successor in the presidency. He owed 
his election to the Democratic party, whose sympathy with France 
and hostility to the policy of Great Britain were well known. Three 



MADISON'S ADMINISTBA TION. 



389 



days before the new administration came into power, the embargo act 
was repealed by Congress; but another measure was adopted instead, 
called the non-intercourse act. By its terms American merchantmen 
were allowed to go abroad, but were forbidden to trade with Great Brit- 
ain. Mr. Erskine, the 
British minister, now 
gave notice that by 
the 10th of June the 
" orders in council," 
so far as they affect- 
ed the United States, 
should be repealed. 
But the British gov- 
ernment disavowed 
the act of its agent; 
and the orders stood 
as before. 

In the following 
spring the emperor 
of the French issued 
a decree authoriz- 
ing the seizure of all 
American vessels 
that might approach 
the ports, of France 
or other harbors held by his troops. But in November of the same 
year the hostile decree was reversed, and all restrictions on the com- 
merce of the United States were removed. If Great Britain had acted 
with equal liberality and justice, there would have beeit no further 
complaint. But that government, with peculiar obstinacy, adhered to 
its former measures, and sent ships of war to hover around the Amer- 
ican ports and enforce the odious orders issued in the previous years. 
It was only a question of time when such insolence would lead to re- 
taliation and M'ar. 

The affairs of the two nations were fast approaching a crisis. It 
became more and more apparent that the wrongs perpetrated by Great 
Britain against the United States would have to be corrected l)y force 
of arms. That England, after such a career of arrogance, would now 
make reparation for the outrages committed by her navy was no longer 
to be hoped for. The ministry of that same George III. with whom 
the colonies had struggled in the Revolution still directed the affairs 




JAMES MADISON. 



390 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the kingdom; from him* now grown old and insane, nothing was 
to be expected. The government of the United States had fallen 
completely under control of the party which sympathized with France, 
while the Federal party, from its leaning toward British interests and 
institutions, grew weaker year by year. The American people, smart- 
ing under the' insults of Great Britain, had adopted the motto of Free 
Trade and Sailors' Rights, and for that motto they had made up 
their minds to fight. The elections, held between 1808 and 1811, 
showed conclusively the drift of public opinion; the sentiment of the 
country was that war was preferable to further humiliation and dis- 
grace. 

In the spring of 1810 the third census of the United States was 
completed. The population had increased to seven million two hun- 
dred and forty thousand souls. The States now numbered seventeen, 
and several new Territories were preparing for admission into the 
Union. The resources of the nation were abundant; its institutions 
deeply rooted and flourishing. But with the rapid march of civilization 
westward the jealousy of the Red man was aroused, and Indiana Ter- 
ritory was afflicted with an Indian war. 

The Shawnees were the leading tribe in the country between the 
Ohio and the Wabash. Their chief was the famous Tecumtha, a brave 
and sagacious warrior; and with him was joined his brother Elkswa- 
tawa, called the Prophet. The former Avas a man of real genius; the 
latter, a vile impostor who pretended to have revelations from the 
spirit-world. But they both worked together in a common cause; and 
their plan was to unite all the nations of the North-west Territory in 
a final effort to beat back the whites. When, therefore, in September 
of 1809, Governor Harrison met the chiefs of several tribes at Fort 
Wayne, and honorably purchased the Indian titles to three million 
acres of land, Tecumtha refused to sign the treaty, and threatened 
death to those who did. In the year that followed he visited the 
nations as far south as Tennessee and exhorted them to lay aside their 
sectional jealousies, in the hope of saving their hunting-grounds. 

Governor Harrison from Vincennes, the capital of the Territory, 
remonstrated with Tecumtha and the Prophet, held several conferences 
with them, and warned them of what would follow from their proceed- 
inirs. Still, the leaders insisted that thev M'ould have back the lands 
which had been ceded by the treaty of Fort Wayne. The governor 
stood firm, sent for a few companies of soldiers and mustered the mi- 
litia of the Territory. The Indians began to prowl through the Wa- 
bash Valley, murdering and stealing. In order to secure the country 



MADISON'S ADMiyiSTBATIOK 391 

and enforce the terms of the treaty, Harrison advanced up the river 
to Terra Haute, built a fort which received his own name, passed on 
to Montezuma, where another block-house was built, and then hastened 
toward the town of the Prophet, at the mouth of the Tippecanoe. 
When within a few miles of his destination, Harrison Avas met by In- 
dian ambassadors, who asked for the appointment of a conference on 
the following day. Their request was granted; and the American 
army encamped for the night. The place selected was a piece of high 
ground covered with oaks.- Burnet Creek skirted the encampment on 
the west. Beyond that, as well as to the east of the oak grove, were 
prairie marsh-lands covered with tall grass. Before daybreak on the 
following morning, 7th of November, 1811, the treacherous savages, 
numbering seven hundred, crept through the marshes, surrounded 
Harrison's position and burst upon the camp like demons. But the 
American militia were under arms in a moment, and fighting in the 
darkness, held the Indians in check until daylight, and then routed 
them n\ several vigorous charges. On the next day the Americans 
burned the Prophet's t(T\vn and soon afterward returned victorious to 
Vinccnnes. Tecumtha was in the South at the time of the battle ; 
when he returned and found his people scattered and subdued, he re- 
paired to Canada and joined the standard of the British. 

Meanwhile, the powers of Great Britain and the United States 
had come into conflict on the ocean. On the 16th of May Commo- 
dore Rodgers, cruising in the American frigate President, hailed a 
vessel off the coast of Virginia. Instead of a polite answer, to his 
salutation, he received a cannon-ball in the mainmast. Other shots fol- 
lowed, and Rodgers responded with a broadside, silencing the enemy's 
guns. In the morning — for it Avas already dark — the hostile ship 
was found to be the British sloop-of-war Little Belt. The vessel had 
been severely though justly punished by the President, having eleven 
men killed and twenty-one wounded. The event produced great ex- 
citement throughout the country. 

On the 4th of November, 1811, i\\(i twelfth Congress of the 
United States assembled. In the body were many men of marked 
ability and patriotism. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina now took 
his seat as a member of the House of Representatives. Henry Clay, 
already distinguished as a statesman, was chos€;n speaker. From the 
first it was seen that war was inevitable. It was impossible for the 
United States, knowing that more than six thousand American citi- 
zens had been impressed into the British navy, to endure, without dis- 
honor, further injury and insolence. Still, many hoped for peace; and 



392 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

tho winter passed without decisive measures. The President himself 
had no disposition and little capacity for Avar; and his various mes- 
sages to Congress w^ere marked as the productions of a ruler over-cau- 
tious and timid. But not so with the fiery leaders of the Democracy 
who supported the President's administration ; and notwithstanding 
the opposition of the Federalists, the war-spirit fired the popular heart. 

In the mean time a transaction was brought to light which cre- 
ated intense excitement and roused the indignation of the whole 
country. On the night of the 2d of February, 1812, an Irishman, 
named John Henry, now a naturalized citizen of the United States, 
called at the President's mansion and revealed to him the astounding 
fact that the ministry of Great Britain, cooperating with Sir James 
Craig, governor of Canada, had been engaged for some years in a trea- 
sonable scheme to destroy the American Union! Henry bore a letter 
from Governor Gerry of Massachusetts, and all the documents neces- 
sary to prove the truth of his statements. As early as 1808 the atten- 
tion of the Canadian governor had been called to certain published 
articles written by Henry against republican governments; and the 
latter was summoned to Montreal. From him Craig learned of the 
intense hostility of the Federal party to the administration and of the 
great distress of New England on account of the Embargo and other 
restrictions on commerce. These facts were communicated to the 
British ministry, and Sir James promised Henry an annual salary of 
five thousand dollars to return to Boston and become the secret agent 
of England and Canada. 

The purpose of the conspirators was to aggravate the popular dis- 
content of New England until the Eastern States should be induced 
to secede from the Union and join themselves with Canada. But 
with the repeal of the Embargo and the subsidence of political excite- 
ment, Henry found the depravity of his business only equaled by its 
unprofitableness. The people of Massachusetts were in no humor to 
be led into a rebellion. Sir James Craig died, and Henry, unsuc- 
cessful and unpaid, w'ent, in 1811, to Lon^lon and presented his claim 
for thirty thousand pounds to the English ministers. By them he was 
well received; but the payment of thirty thousand pounds for services 
which had resulted in nothing was reckoned a serious matter; and 
Henry was sent back to get Avhatever remuneration he could from Sir 
George Prevost, the successor of Craig in the governorship of Canada. 
Enraged at his treatment, the spy, instead of returning to Montreal, 
sailed to Boston, and going thence to Washington divulged the whole 
conspiracy to the President, surrendered his correspondence with 



MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 393 

Craig, and received therefor fifty thousand dollars out of the secret 
service fund of the United States. The disclosure of this perfidious 
business contributed greatly to consolidate public sentiment against 
Great Britain and to strengthen the hands of the war party in the 
government. 

On the 4th of April, 1812, an act was passed by Congress laying 
an embargo for ninety days on all British vessels within the jurisdic- 
tion of the United States. But Great Britain would not recede from 
her hostile attitude. One of the ministers declared that it was " an 
ancient and well-established right" of His Majesty's government to 
impress British seamen on board of neutral vessels. Before the final 
decision of England was known, Louisiana, the eighteenth State, was, 
on the 8th of April, admitted into the Union. The area of the new 
commonwealth was more than forty-one thousand square jniles ; and 
her population, according to the census of 1810, had reached seventy- 
seven thousand. 

On the 4th of June a resolution declaring war against Great 
Britain was passed by the House of Representatives. On the 17th of 
the same month the bill received the sanction of the Senate ; and two 
days afterward the President issued his proclamation of war. Vigor- 
ous preparations for the impending conflict were made by Congress. 
It was ordered to raise twenty-five thousand regular troops and fifty 
thousand volunteers. At the same time the several States were re- 
quested to call out a hundred thousand militia for the defence of the 
coasts and harbors. A national loan of eleven million dollars was au- 
thorized. Henry Dearborn of Massachusetts was chosen first major- 
general and commander-in-chief of the army. 

Great Britain was already prepared for the conflict. Her armies 
in Europe were immense and thoroughly equipped. Napoleon just at 
this time began his fiimous invasion of Russia, and the allied nations 
of Western Europe were for .a while relieved of their apprehensions. 
The British navy amounted to no less than a thousand and thirty-six 
vessels. Of these there were two hundred and fifty-four ships-of-the- 
line, not one of which carried less than seventy-four guns of large 
caliber. At various stations on the American coast there were eighty- 
five war-vessels bearing the English flag, and ready for immediate ac- 
tion. Lake Ontario was commanded by four British brigs carrying an 
aggregate of sixty guns. The Canadian armies of England amounted 
to seven thousand five hundred regulars and forty thousand militia. 
Back of all these forces and armaments stood the seemingly inexhaust- 
ible British treasury, with the ambitious young Lord Castlereagh and 



394 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




SCENE OF HULL'S CAMPAIGN, 
' 1812. 



his associate ministers to disburse it. As to George III., old age and 
incurable insanity had at last prevailed to displace him from the throne 
and to make the Prince Regent, George IV., the actual sovereign. In 
all that appertained to preparation and readiness for the conflict the 
United States bore no comparison to the pow- 
erful foe. 

The- first movement of the war was made 
by General William Hull, governor of JNIichi- 
gan Territory. A force of twelve hundred Ohio 
volunteers, together with three hundred regu- 
lars, was organized at Dayton for the purj)ose 
of overawing the Indians on the north-western 
frontier. Hull was also authorized, should cir- 
cumstances warrant such a course, to invade and 
conquer Canada. The march began on the 1st 
of June; and it was a full month before the 
army, toiling through more than two hundred 
miles of forests, reached the western extremity 
of Lake Erie. Arriving at the Maumee, Hull despatched his baggage, 
stores and official papers in a boat to Detroit. But the British forces 
posted at Maiden had already been informed of the declaration of 
hostilities ; and Hull's boat with every thing on board was captured. 
Nevertheless, the American army pressed on to Detroit, where early 
in July the general received despatches informing him of the dec- 
laration of war, and directing him to proceed with the invasion of 
Canada. On the 12th of the month he crossed the Detroit River to 
Sandwich with the avowed purpose of capturing Maiden. And this 
might easily have been accomplished had not the inefficiency of the 
general checked the enthusiasm of the army. 

Meanwhile, the news came that the American post at Mackinaw 
had been surprised and captured by the British. This intelligence fur- 
nished Hull a good excuse for recrossing the river to Detroit. Here 
he received intelligence that Major Brush, sent forward by Governor 
Meigs of Ohio, was approaching with reinforcements and supplies. 
Major Van Home was accordingly despatched with a body of troops 
to meet Brush at the River Raisin and conduct him safely to Detroit. 
But Tecumtha, assisted by some British troops, had cut the lines of 
communication and laid an ambush for Van Home's forces in the 
neigborhood of Brownstown. The scheme Avas successful ; Van Home 
ran into the trap and was severely defeated. Any kind of energetic 
movement on Hull's part would have retrieved the disaster; but en- 



MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 395 

ergy was altogether wanting; and when, three days later, Colonel Mil- 
ler with another detachment attacked and routed the savages with great 
loss, he was hastily recalled to Detroit. The officers and men lost all 
faith in the commander, and there were symptoms of a mutiny. 

In the mean time. General Brock, the governor of Upper Can- 
ada, arrived at Maiden and took command of the British forces. Act- 
ing in conjunction with Tecumtha, he crossed the river, and on the 
16th of August advanced to the siege of Detroit. The Americans if 
their trenches outside of the fort were eager for battle, and stood with 
lighted matches awaiting the order to fire. When the British were 
within five hundred yards, to the amazement of both armies Hull 
hoisted a white flag over the fort. There was a brief parley and then 
a surrender, perhaps the most shameful in the history of the United 
States. Not only the army in Detroit, but all the forc(^s under Hull's 
command, became prisoners of war. The whole of Michigan Territory 
was surrendered to the British. At the capitulation the American offi- 
cers in rage and despair stamped the ground, broke their swords and 
tore off their epaulets. The whole country was humiliated at the dis- 
graceful business. The government gave thirty British prisoners in 
exchange for Hull, and he was brought before a court-martial charged 
with treason, cowardice and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was 
convicted on the last two charges, and sentenced to be shot; but the 
President, having compassion on one who had served the country in 
the Revolution, pardoned him. After all the discussions that have 
been had on Hull and his campaign, the best that can be said of him 
is that he was a patriot and a coward. 

About the thne of the fall of Detroit, Fort Dearborn, on the 
present site of Chicago, was invested by an army of Indians. The 
garrison was feeble, and the commandant proposed a surrender on 
condition that his men should retire without molestation. This was 
agreed to ; but the savages, finding that the garrison had destroyed 
the whisky that was in the fort, fell upon the retreating soldiers, killed 
some of them, and distributed the rest as captives. On the day after 
the capitulation Fort Dearborn was burned to the ground. 

These losses, however, were more than compensated by the brill- 
iant achievements of the young American navy. From the first it 
became apparent that the war was destined to be a conflict on the sea- 
coast and the ocean. The United States would act for the most part 
on the defensive, and Great Britain would rely chiefly upon her navy. 
The condition of both nations was such as to provoke this sort of war- 
fare. On the one side was the British armament superior to any other 



396 • HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

in the world, and on the other an exposed sea-coast, a few fortresses, 
and a navy of almost insignificant proportions. From the beginning, 
the policy of the American government had been distinctly declared 
ao-ainst a standing army and a regular fleet. It was held that a citizen 
soldiery and an extemporized flotilla would be sufficient for every 
emero-ency. A large military establishment, said the defenders of the 
American system, is enormously expensive and a constant menace to 
civil liberty. After the Revolution, especially during the administra- 
tion of Jefferson, the military spirit was discouraged and the defenses 
of the country fell into decay. In 1808 the whole coast of Maine 
was defended only by Fort Sumner, at Portland. New Hampshire had 
but one fortress, a half ruined block-house at Portsmouth. On the 
coast of Massacluisetts four fortifications — one at Cape Ann, one at 
Salem, one at JMarblehead, and Fort Independence in Boston Harbor 
furnished the only security against attack. In the neighborhood of 
Newport, Rhode Island, there were six works, some of importance, 
others insignificant. New London, Connecticut, was defended by Fort 
Trumbull, a block-house of considerable strength but in bad repair. 
On Governor's Island, in New York Harbor, stood Fort Jay, which, 
together with the Battery at the south end of Manhattan and some 
slight fortifications on Ellis's and Bedloe's Islands, furnished a toler- 
able protection. The whole coast of New Jersey lay open to invasion. 
On Mud Island in the Delaware, a short distance below Philadelphia, 
stood the formidable Fort Mifilin, an old British fort of the Revolu- 
tion. Not less in strength and importance was Fort McHenry on the 
Patapsco, commanding the approach to 'Baltimore. Annapolis was 
defended by Fort Severn, then only a group of breast-works. Nor- 
folk, Virginia, relied for protection on a fort of the same name and 
another work, called Fort Nelson," on the opposite side of Elizabeth 
River. In Charleston Harbor stood Fort Johnson on James's Island, 
Fort Pinckney in front of the city, and Fort Moultrie of Revolutionary 
fame. Upon these scattered fortifications and the terror inspired by 
Fulton's torpedoes the Americans must depend for the defense of a 
coast-line reaching from Passamaquoddy to the St. INIary's. 

Such was the attitude and relative strength of the two nations. 
Great, therefore, was the astonishment of the world when the American 
sailors, not waiting to be attacked, went forth without a tremor to 
smite the mistress of the seas. And greater the admiration when a 
series of brilliant victories declared for the flag of the Republic. 
During the summer of 1812 the navy of the United States won a just 
and lastimr renown. On the 19th of August the frigate Constitution, 



MADISON'S ADMINISTRATION. 397 

commanded by Captain Isaac Hull, overtook the British ship-of-Avar 
Guerriere, off the coast of Massachusetts. Captain Dacres, who com- 
manded the British vessel, had been boasting of his prowess and send- 
ing challenges to American vessels to come out and fight; now there 
was an opportunity to exhibit his valor. The vessels manoeuvred for 
a while, the Constitution closing with her antagonist, until at half-pistol 
shot she poured in a terrible broadside, sweeping the decks of i\\Q 
Guerriere and deciding the contest. Dacres, after losing fifteen men 
killed and sixty-three wounded, struck his colors and surrendered his 
shattered vessel as a prize. The American loss was seven killed and 
an equal number wounded. On the following morning the Guerriere, 
being unmanageable, was blown up; and Hull returned to port with 
his prisoners and spoils. 

On the 18th of October the xVmerican sloop-of-war Wasj), of 
eighteen guns, under command of Captain Jones, fell in with a fleet 
of British merchantmen off the coast of Virginia. The squadron was 
under convoy of the brig Frolic, of twenty-two guns, commanded by 
Captain Whinyatcs, who put his vessel between the merchantmen and 
the Wasp, and prepared for battle. A terrible engagement ensued, 
lasting for three-quarters of an hour. Both ships became nearly help- 
less; but the Wasp closed with her foe and delivered a final broadside 
which completely cleared the deck. The American crew then boarded 
the Frolic and struck the British flag ; for not a seaman was left above 
deck to perform that service. Scarcely had the smoke of the conflict 
cleared away w'hen the Poictiers, a British seventy-four gun ship, bore 
down upon the scene, captured the Wasp and retook the wreck of the 
Frolic. But the fame of Captain Jones's victory was not dimmed by 
the catastrophe. 

Seven days afterward. Commodore Decatur, commanding the 
frigate United States, of forty-four guns, attacked the British frigate 
Macedonia, of forty-nine guns. The battle was fought a short distance 
west of the Canary Islands. After a two hours' engagement, in which 
the United States was but little injured, the Macedonia surrendered, 
with a loss in killed and wounded of more than a hundred men. On 
the 12th of December the ship Essex, commanded by Captain Porter, 
captured the Nocton, a British packet, having on board fifty-five thou- 
sand dollars in specie. More important still was the capture of the 
frigate Java by the Constitution, now under command of Commodore 
Bainbridge. On the 29th of December the two vessels met oflF San 
Salvador, on the coast of Brazil. A furious battle ensued, continuing 
for two hours. Every mast was torn from the British ship, and her 



398 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

hull was burst with round shot. The deck was made slippery with the 
blood of more than two hundred killed and wounded seamen. The 
vessel was reduced to a wreck before her flag was struck; then the 
crew and passengers, numbering upward of four hundred, were trans- 
ferred to the Constitution, and the hull of the Java was burned at sea. 
The news of these successive victories roused the enthusiasm of the 
people to the highest pitch. In the course of the year two hundred 
and fifty British ships, carrying three thousand sailors, and cargoes of 
immense value, were captured by the American cruisers. Filled with 
exultation, the people of the United States saw in these naval tri- 
umphs the omens of complete overthrow to the arrogant dominion of 
Britain on the seas. The nations of Europe heard in astonishment. 
France was well pleased ; for in these humiliations of her great enemy 
she witnessed the fulfillment of Napoleon's prophecy when, at the 
cession of Louisiana, he exclaimed with delight : " There ! I have this 
day given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later hum- 
ble her pride !" For a while the English themselves were well-nigh 
paralyzed. The British newspapers burst forth raging and declared 
that the time-honored flag of England had been disgraced " by a piece 
of striped bunting flying at the mast-heads of a few fir-built frigates, 
manned by a handful of ''" '■" ''" '■'■' and outlaws!" And the com- 
ment, though stated in unpleasant language, was true ! 

During the summer and autumn of 1812 military operations 
were active, but not decisive, on the Niagara frontier. The troops 
in that quarter, consisting of the New York militia, a few regulars, 
and recruits from other States, were commanded by General Stephen 
Van Rensselaer. The first movement of the Americans was made 
against Qucenstown, on the Canada side of the river. On the 13th 
of October a thousand men were embarked in boats and landed on 
the western shore. They were resisted at the water's edge, and 
Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, the leader, was wounded. The 
subordinate officers led the charge, and the British batteries on the 
heights of Qtteenstown were carried. The enemy's forces were ral- 
lied, however, by General Brock, and returning to the charge, were 
a second time repulsed. General Brock fell mortally wounded. The 
Americans began to entrench themselves, and orders were sent across 
the river for the remaining division, twelve hundred strong, to has- 
ten to the rescue. But the American militia on the eastern shore de- 
clared that they were there to defend the United State.^ and not to 
invade Canada. There they stood all afternoon, while their comrades 
at Queenstown were surrounded by the British, who came with strong 



MADISON'S ADMINISTRA TION. 



399 




reinforcements from Fort George. The Americans bravely defended 
themselves until they had lost a hundred and sixty men in killed and 
Avounded, and were then obliged to surrender. General Van Rensse- 
laer, disgusted at the conduct of the New York militia, resigned his 
command, and was succeeded by General 
Alexander Smyth of Virginia. 

This officer began his career as com- 
mander by issuing two proclamations that 
would have put to shame the bulletins of 
Bonaparte or Ctesar. He declared that in 
a few days his standards should be planted 
in the strono-holds of Canada. After cross- 
ing Niagara and conquering the British do- 
minions, he would annex them to the United 
States ! His predecessors in command of the 
army had been popular men, but wholly des- 
titute of skill or experience in the art of war ! 
The soldiers of the "Army of the Center," as 
he called the militia under his authority, had 
now a general who would lead them to cer- 
tain victory! Every man who performed a 
jrallant action should have his name immortalized in the annals of his 
country ! And so on for quantity and style. 

In the mean time the Americans, numbering between four and 
five thousand, had been rallied at Black Rock, a few miles north 
of Buffalo. From this point, on the 28th of November, a company 
was sent across to the Canada shore ; but Instead of following with 
a stronger detachment. General Smyth ordered the advance party to 
return. A few days afterward another crossing was planned, and the 
Americans were already embarked, when they were commanded to 
return to winter quarters. The militia became mutinous. Smyth was 
charged with cowardice and disloyalty, and after three months was 
deposed from his command. Thus ended the military operations of 
1812. In the autumn INIadison was re-elected President; the choice 
for Vice-President fell on Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts. In the 
debates at the opening of Congress the policy of the administration 
was strongly condemned by the opponents of the war ; but vigorous 
measures were adopted for strengthening the army and navy. 



THE NIAGARA FRONTIEK, 1812. 



400 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER L. 

WAR OF IS 12.— CONTINUED. 

I Is the beginning of 1813 the American army was organized in three 
divisions : the Army of the North, commanded by General 
Wade Hampton, to operate in the country of Lake Champlain; the 
Army of the Centre, under direction of the commander-in-chief, to 
resume offensive movements on the Niagara frontier and Lake Ontario; 
the Army of the West, under command of General Winchester, 
who was soon superseded by General Harrison. Early in January the 
latter division, made up of various detachments of militia from the 
Western States, moved toward the head of Lake Erie to regain the 
ground lost by Hull in the previous summer. On the 10th of the month 
the American advance, composed of eight hundred men under Winchester, 
reached the rapids of the Maumee. A body of British and Indians M'as 
posted at Erenchtown, on the river Eaisin, thirty miles from Winchester's 
camp. A detachment of Americans pressed forward, attacked the enemy, 
captured the town, encamped there, and on the 20th of the month were 
joined by Winchester ^Wth the main division. 

Two days afterward the Americans were suddenly assaulted by a 
force of a thousand five hundred British and Indians under command of 
General Proctor. A severe battle was fought, each party losing nearly 
three hundred men. The British were checked, and for a while the issue 
was doubtful ; but General Winchester, having been taken by the enemy, 
advised his forces to capitulate under a pledge of protection given by 
Proctor and his subordinates. As soon as the surrender was made the 
British general set off at a rapid rate to return to Maiden. The American 
wounded were left to the mercy of the savages, who at once began their 
work with tomahawk and scalping-knife and torch. The two houses 
into which most of the wounded had been crowded Avere fired, while the 
painted barbarians stood around and hurled back into the flames whoever 
attempted to escape. The rest of the prisoners were dragged away through 
untold sufferings to Detroit, where they were ransomed at an enormous 
price. This shameful campaign has fixed on the name of Proctor the 
indelible stain of infamy. 

General Harrison, on hearing the fate of Winchester's division, fell 
loack from the Maumee, but soon returned and built Fort Meigs. Here 



WAR OF 12. 401 

he remained until the 1st of INIay, when he was besieged by a force of two 
thousand British and savages, led by Proctor and Tecunitha. Meanwhile, 
General Clay with twelve hundred Kentuckians advanced to the relief of 
the fort. The besiegers were attacked in turn, and at the same time the 
besieged made a successful sally. But for the mistake of Colonel Dudley, 
who allowed his detachment to be cut off and captured, the British Avould 
liave been completely routed. Again the American prisoners were treated 
with savage cruelty until Tecumtha, not Proctor, interfered to save them. 
In a few days the Indians deserted in large numbers, and Proctor, be- 
coming alarmed, abandoned the siege, and on the 9th of May retreated to 
Maiden. 

For nearly three months active operations were suspended. In the 
latter part of July, Proctor and Tecumtha with a force of nearly four 
thousand men retiirned to Fort Meigs, now commanded by General Clay. 
For several days the British general beat about the American position, 
attempting to draw out the garrison. Failing in that, he filed off with 
about half his forces and attacked Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky. 
This place was defended by a hundred and sixty men under command of 
Colonel Croghan, a stripling but twenty-one years of age. But he ex- 
hibited the skill and bravery of a veteran. To the enemy's summons, 
accompanied Avith a threat of massacre in case of refusal, he answered that 
the fort should be held as long as there was a man left alive within it. 
For a while the British cannonaded the ramparts without much effect, 
and on the 2d of August advanced to carry the place by storm. Croghan 
filled his only gun with slugs and grape-shot, and masked it in such a 
position as to rake the ditch from end to end. The British, believing the 
fort to be silenced, crowded into the fatal trench, and were swept away 
almost to a man. The repulse was complete. Proctor, fearing the ap- 
proach of Harrison, raised the siege and returned to Maiden. 

At this time the waters of Lake Erie were commanded by a British 
squadron of six vessels carrying sixty-three guns. It was seen that a suc- 
cessful invasion of Canada could only be made by first gaining control of 
the lake. This serious undertaking was imposed on Commodore Oliver 
H. Perry of Rhode Island — a young man not twenty-eight years old who 
had never been in a naval battle. His antagonist, Commodore Barclay, 
was a veteran from the sea-service of Europe. With indefatigable energy 
Perry directed the construction of nine ships, carrying fifty-four guns, and 
was soon afloat on the lake. On the 10th of September the two fleets met 
a short distance north-west of Put-in Bay. Careful directions had been 
given by both commanders for the impending battle ; both were resolved 

on victory. The fight was begun l)y the American scjuadron, Perry's 
"26 



402 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

flag-ship, the Lawrence, leading the attack. His principal antagonist was 
the Detroit, under the immediate command of Barclay, Tlie British guns, 
being longer, had the wider range, and were better served. The Lawrence 
was ruined ; nearly all the cannon were dismounted, masts torn away, 
sailors killed. 

Between the other ships the battle was proceeding in a desultory 
way without much damage ; but Barclay's flag-ship was almost as nearly 
wrecked as the Lawrence. Perceiving with quick eye how the battle stood, 
the dauntless Perry, himself unhurt, put on his uniform, seized his ban- 
ner, got overboard into an open boat, passed within pistol-shot of the 
enemy's ships, a storm of balls flying around him, and transferred his flag 
to the Niagara. A shout went up from the American fleet; it was the 
signal of victory. With the powerful Niagara still uninjured by the 
battle. Perry bore down upon the enemy's line, drove right through 
the midst, discharging terrible broadsides right and left. In fifteen 
minutes the work was done ; the British fleet was helpless. Perry with 
a touch of pride returned to the bloody deck of the Laiorence, and there 
received the surrender. And then he sent to General Harrison this 
famous despatch : " AVe have met the enemy, and tliey are ours — two 
ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop." 

This victory gave the Americans full control of Lake Erie. Both 
Proctor and Harrison aAvaited the result. If Barclay should win, Proctor 
would invade Ohio; if Perry should prove victorious, Harrison would 
conquer Canada. For the Americans the way was now opened. On the 
27th of September Harrison's army was embarked at Sandusky Bay and 
landed near INIalden. The disheartened British retreated to Sandwich, 
the Americans following hard after. From the latter place Proctor con- 
tinued his retreat to the river Thames, and there faced about to fight. 
The battle-field was well chosen by the British, whose lines extended 
from the river to a swamp. Here, on the 5th of October, they were 
attacked by the Americans led by Harrison and General Shelby, governor 
of Kentucky. In the beginning of the battle, Proctor, being a coward, 
ran. The British regulars sustained the attack with firmness, and were 
only broken when furiously charged by the Kentuckians under Colonel 
Richard M. Johnson. When that part of the field was won, the Ameri- 
cans wheeled against the Indians, who, to the number of fifteen hundred, 
lay hidden in the swamp to the west. Here the battle raged fiercely. 
Tecumtha had staked all on the issue. For a while his war-whoop 
sounded above the din of the conflict. Presently his voice was heard no 
longer, for the great chieftain had fallen. At the same time Colonel 
Johnson was borne away severely wounded. The savages, appalled by 



WAR OF '12. 



403 



the death of their leader, fled in despair. The victory was complete. So 
ended the campaign in the West. The Indian confederacy was broken 
to pieces. All that Hull had lost was regained. Michigan was recovered. 
Ohio no longer feared invasion. Perry swept Lake Erie with his fleet. 
Canada was prostrated before the victorious army of Harrison. 

Meanwhile, the Creeks of Alabama, kinsmen of the Shawnees, had 
taken up arms. In the latter part of August, Fort Mims, forty miles 
north of Mobile, was surprised by the savages, who appeased their thirst 
for blood with the murder of nearly four hundred people ; not a woman 
or child was spared, and but few of the men in the fort escaped. The 
news of the massacre spread consternation throughout the Southwest. 
The governors of Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi Territory made 
immediate preparations for invading the country of the Creeks. The 
Tennesseeans, under command of General Jackson, were first to the res- 
cue. A detachment of nine hundred men, led 
by General Coffee, reached the Indian town 
of Tallushatchee, attacked it, burned it, left 
not an Indian alive. On the 8th of Novem- 
ber a battle was fought at Talladega, east of 
the Coosa, and the savages were defeated with 
severe losses. In the latter part of the same 
month another fight occurred at Autosse, on 
the south bank of the Tallapoosa, and again 
the Indians were routed. 

During the winter Jackson's troops, un- 
provided and starving, became mutinous and 
Avere going home. But the general set the 
example of living on acorns ; then rode before 
the rebellious line and threatened with death the 
stirred. And no man stirred 




SCENE OF THE CREEK WAR, 

1S13-14. 



first mutineer who 
On the 22d of January, 1814, the battle 
of Emucfau was fought on the west bank of the Tallapoosa. The valor 
of the Tennesseeans again gave them the victory. At Tohopeka, called 
by the whites the Horseshoe Bend, the Creeks made their final stand. 
Here the Tallapoosa Avinds westward and northward, enclosing a large 
tract of land in the form of a peninsula with a narrow neck. This posi- 
tion the Indians had fortified with more than their usual skill. The 
whites, led by General Coffee, surrounded the place, so as to prevent 
escape by crossing the river. On the 27th of INIarch, the main body 
of whites under General Jackson stormed the breastworks and drove 
the Indians into the bend. There, huddled together without the pos- 
sibility of escape, a thousand Creek warriors, with the women and 



404 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

children of the tribe, met their doom. The desperate Red men asked 
no quarter, and none was given. The few chiefs who were still abroad 
sent in their submission ; the spirit of the nation was completely 
broken. 

On the 25th of x\pril, 1813, General Dearborn, commanding the 
Army of the Centre, embarked his forces at Sackett's Harbor, near the 
eastern extremity of Lake Ontario. The object of the expedition was to 
capture Toronto, the capital of Upper Canada. Here was the most im- 
portant depot of supplies in British America. The American fleet under 
Commodore Chauncey had already obtained the mastery of the lake, so 
that Dearborn's passage was unopposed. On the 27th of the month a 
force of seventeen hundred men, commanded l)y General Pike, was 
landed within two miles of Toronto. At the water's edge they were 
met by the British. The Americans drove the enemy for a mile and 
a half, stormed a battery, and rushed forward to carry the main de- 
fences. At that moment the British magazine blew up with terrific 
violence. The assaulting column was covered with the debris of the 
explosion. Two hundred men were killed or wounded. General Pike 
was fitally injured, but lived long enough to hear the shout of vic- 
tory; for the Americans, first shocked and then maddened by the 
calamity, made a furious charge and drove the British out of the town. 
Generi^l Sheaffe \yith a body of regulars escaped ; the rest were taken 
prisoners. Property to the value of a half million dollars was secured 
to the victors. 

While this movement was taking place the enemy made a descent 
on Sackett's Harbor. By the withdrawal of the American forces that 
post had been left exposed. The British succeeded in destroying a quan- 
tity of stores ; but General Brown rallied the militia, and drove back the 
assailants with considerable loss. Meanwhile, the victorious troops at 
Toronto had re-embarked and crossed the lake to the mouth of the 
Niagara. On the 27th of May the Americans, led by Generals Chandler 
and Winder, crossed the river and stormed Fort George, on the Canada 
shore. The British hastily destroyed their posts along the Niagara and 
retreated to Burlington Bay, at the western extremity of the lake. The 
Americans, pursuing them thither, were attacked in the night, but suc- 
ceeded in repulsing the enemy with loss. 

During the months of summer military operations on the frontier 
were suspended. After the battle of the Thames, General Harrison had 
transferred his forces to Buffalo, and then resigned his commission. On 
account of old age and ill health General Dearborn also withdrew from 
the service, and was succeeded by General Wilkinson. The next cam- 



WAR OF 12. 405 

paign, which was planned by General Armstrong, secretary of war, em- 
braced the conquest of Montreal. For this purpose the Army of the 
Centre, under "\Yilkinson, was ordered to join the Army of the North at 
some convenient point on the St. Lawrence. The enterprise was attended 
with many difficulties and not a few delays. Not until the 5th of Novem- 
ber did a force of seven thousand men, embarking from the mouth of 
French Creek, twenty miles north of Sackett's Harbor, sail down the St. 
Lawrence for the conquest of Montreal. Parties of British, Canadians 
and Indians, gathering on the northern bank of the river, constantly im- 
peded the progress of the expedition. General Brown was landed with a 
considerable force to disperse these bands or drive the enemy into the 
interior. On the 11th of the month a severe battle was fought at a 
place called Chrysler's Field. Neither party gained a victory, but the 
advantage . remained with the British. The Americans, having lost 
nearly three hundred men in the fight, passed down the river to St. 
Regis, on the southern shore, where the forces of General Hampton 
Avere expected from Plattsburg to form a junction with Wilkinson's 
command. But Hampton did not stir; and the j^roject of attacking 
Montreal had to be abandoned. The Americans then went into winter 
quarters at Fort Covington, at the fork of Salmon River, nine miles 
from St. Regis. 

In the mean time, the British on the Niagara frontier rallied and 
advanced against Fort George. General McClure, the commandant, 
abandoned the place on the approach of the enemy, but before retreating 
burned the Canadian town of Newark. It cost the people of Northern 
New York dearly ; for the British and Indians crossed the river, cap- 
tured Fort Niagara, and fired the villages of Youngstown, Lewiston and 
Manchester. On next to the last day of the year Black Rock and Buffalo 
were laid in ashes. 

In the sea-fights of 1813 victory generally declared for the British. 
During the year both nations wasted much blood and treasure on the 
ocean. Off the coast of Demarara, on the 24th of February, the sloop- 
of-war Hornet, commanded by Captain James Lawrence, fell in with the 
British brig Peacock. The ships were equally matched. A terrible battle 
of fifteen minutes ensued, and the Peacock, already sinking, struck her 
colors. While the Americans were trying to transfer the conquered crew 
the ocean yawned and the brig sank out of sight. Nine British sailors 
and three of Lawrence's men were sucked doM-n in the whirlpool. 

On returning to Boston the command of the Chesapeake — one of 
the best frigates in the American navy — was given to Lawrence, and 
again he put to sea. Before sailing he received a challenge from Captain 



406 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Broke, of the British frigate Shannon, to come out and fight him. Law- 
rence ought not to have accepted the banter; for his equipments were 
incomplete and his crew ill assorted, sick and half mutinous. But he was 
young, and the favorite of the nation ; fired with applause, he went un- 
hesitatingly to meet his foe. Eastward from Cape Ann the two vessels 
met on the first day of June. The battle ^v•as obstinate, brief, dreadful. 
In a short time every officer who could direct the movements of the 
Chesapeake was either killed or wounded. The brave young Lawrence 
was struck with a musket-ball, and fell dying on the bloody deck. 
As they bore him down the hatchway he gave in feeble voice his last 
heroic order — ever afterward the motto of the American sailor — " Don't 
GIVE UP THE SHIP !" The British were already leaping on deck, and 
the flae: of Eno-land was hoisted over the shattered vessel. Both 
ships were charnel-houses; but the Shannon was still able to tow her 
prize into the harbor of Plalifax. There the bodies of Lawrence and 
Ludlow, second in command, were tenderly and honorably buried by the 
British. 

The next important naval battle was fought on the 14th of August 
between the American brig Ai^gus and the British Pelican. The former 
vessel had made a daring cruise about the coasts of England, capturing 
more than twenty ships. Herself overtaken by the Pelican, she was 
obliged, after a severe conflict, to surrender. On the 5th of September 
another British brig, the Boxer, cruising off the coast of ]\Iaine, was over- , 
hauled and captured by the American Enterprise, commanded by Captain 
Burrows. The fight ragod for three-quarters of an hour, when the Boxer 
surrendered. Captain Blyth, the British commander, was killed; and 
the p^allant Burrows received a mortal wound. The bodies of both 
officers were taken to Portland and buried side by side with military 
honors. All summer long Captain Porter in the frigate Essex cruised in 
the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. For five months he was the 
terror of British merchantmen in those broad waters. On the 28th of 
the following INIarch, while the Essex was lying in the harbor of Val- 
paraiso, she was beset, contrary to the law of nations, by two powerful 
British vessels, the Phoebe and the Cherub. The Essex had been crippled 
by a storm, and was anchored in neutral waters ; in that condition Captain 
Porter fought his two antagonists until nearly all of his men Mere killed 
or wounded ; then struck his colors and surrendered. IvTotAvithstanding 
the losses sustained by the American na\y, privateers continued to scour 
the ocean and capture British vessels. 

From honorable warfare the naval officers of England stooped to 
marauding along the sea-shore. Early in the year a squadron entered 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 407 

Delaware Bay and anchored before Lewistown. A requisition on the in- 
habitants to supply the fleet with provisions was met with a brave refusal. 
A threat to burn the town was answered with a message of defiance. A 
bombardment of twenty-four hours' duration followed ; the houses were 
much injured, and the people fled, carrying their property to places of 
safety. Other British men-of-war entered the Chesapeake and burned 
several villages on the shores of the bay. At the town of Hampton, just 
above the Roads, the soldiers and marines perpetrated such outrages as 
covered their memory with shame. Commodore Hardy, to whom the 
blockade of the New England harbors had been assigned, behaved with 
more humanity ; even the Americans recognized and praised his honor- 
able conduct. The year 1813 closed without decisive results. 



CHAPTER LI. 

THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 



IN the spring of 1814 another invasion of Canada was planned. The 
Niagara frontier was the scene of operations; but there was much 
delay in bringing the scattered detachments of General Wilkinson's army 
into proper position. Not until the 3d of July did Generals Scott and 
Ripley, at the head of three thousand men, cross the Niagara from Black 
Rock to Fort Erie. This post, garrisoned by two hundred British, was 
surrendered without a battle. On the following day the Americans ad- 
vanced down the river-bank in the direction of ChippeAva village. Before 
reaching that place, however, they were met by the British army, led by 
General Riall. On the evening of the 5th a severe battle was fought on 
the plain just south of Chippewa River. The Americans, led on by 
Generals Scott and Ripley and the gallant Major Jessup, won the day ; 
but their loss amounted to three hundred and thirty-eight men. The 
British veterans, after more than five hundred of their number had fallen, 
were driven into their entrenchments. 

General Riall retreated first to Queenstown and afterward to Bur- 
lington Heights. General Scott, commanding the American right, was 
detached to watch the movements of the enemy. On the evening of the 
25th of July he found himself suddenly confronted by Riall's army, 
strongly posted on the high grounds in sight of Niagara Falls. Here 



408 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

was fought the hardest battle of the war. A man less courageous and 
self-confident than Scott would have retreated; but with extraordinary 
daring he held his own until reinforced by the other divisions of the 
army. The British reserves were also rapidly brought into action. 
Twilight faded into darkness, and still the battle Avas undecided. A de- 
tachment of Americans, getting upon the British rear, captured General 
Riall and his entire staff. Still the contest raged. The key to the 
enemy's position was a high ground crowned with a battery. Calling 
Colonel James Miller to his side and pointing to the hill. General Brown 
said, " Colonel, take your regiment and storm that battery." " I'll try, 
SIR," was the answer of the gallant officer ; and he did take it, and held 
it against three desperate assaults of the British. In the last charge 
General Drummond, who led, was wounded, and the royal army, num- 
bering fully five thousand, was driven from the field with a loss of eight 
hundred and seventy-eight men. The Americans engaged in the battle 
numbered about four thousand ; their loss in killed, wounded and miss- 
ing was more than eight hundred. 

After this battle of Niagara, or Lundy's Lane, as it is sometimes 
called, General Bipley took commandof the American forces; for Generals 
Brown and Scott were both wounded. It was deemed prudent to fall 
back to Fort Erie. To that place General Gaines crossed over from 
Buffalo, and being the senior officer, assumed command of the army. 
Very soon General Drummond received reinforcements, moved forward, 
and on the 4th of August invested Fort Erie. The siege continued for 
ten days, and then the British attempted to storm the works, but were 
driven back with severe losses. But the enemy was reinforced and the 
siege resumed. A regular and destructive bombardment was kept up by 
the British, and was answered by the Americans with equal energy. On 
the 28th of August General Gaines was injured by the explosion of a 
shell and obliged to relin(|uish his command. General Brown, though 
still suffering from the wound received at Niagara, was again called to 
direct the defences of the fort. On the 17th of September a sortie was 
■ordered, and the advanced works of the British were gallantly carried. 
At the same time news arrived that the American general Izard was ap- 
proaching from Plattsburg with strong reinforcements. Alarmed at the 
threatening aspect of affairs, the British raised the siege and retreated to 
Fort George. On the 5th of November Fort Erie was evacuated and 
destroyed by the Americans, who then recrossed the Niagara and went 
into winter quarters at Black Rock and Buffalo. So ended the war in 
the country between Lakes Erie and Ontario. 

The winter of 1813-14 was passed by the Army of the North at 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 409 

French Mills, afterward called Fort Covington. In the latter part of 
February General Wilkinson advanced his forces to Plattsburg, and in 
the followino- month beQ;an an invasion of Canada. At La Colle, on the 
west bank of the Sorel, he encountered a force of the enemy, made an im- 
prudent attack and Avas defeated. Falling back to Plattsburg, he was 
superseded by General Izard. How that officer marched to the relief of 
General Brown at Fort Erie has already been narrated. The remaining 
division of the northern array, fifteen hundred strong, was left under com- 
mand of General Macomb at Plattsburg. At this time the American 
flotilla on Lake Champlain was commanded by Commodore INIacDonough. 
For the purpose of destroying this fleet and obtaining control of the lake, 
the British general Prevost advanced into Northern New York at the 
head of fourteen thousand men, and at the same time ordered Commodore 
Downie to ascend the Sorel with his fleet. 

The invading army reached Plattsburg without opposition. Coni- 
modore MacDonough's squadron lay in the bay. On the 6th of Septem- 
ber General Macomb retired with his small but courageous army to the 
south bank of the Saranac, which skirted the village. On came the 
British, entered the town, and attempted to cross the river, but were 
driven back. For four days they renewed their efforts ; the Americans 
had torn up the bridges, and a passage could not be effected. The British 
fleet M-as now ready for action, and a general battle by land and water 
was planned for the 11th. Prevost's army, arranged in three columns, 
was to sweep across the Saranac and carry Macomb's position, while 
Downie's powerful flotilla wms to bear down on MacDonough. The 
naval battle began first, and was obstinately fought for two hours and a 
half. At the end of that time Downie and many of his officers had been 
killed; the heavier British vessels were disabled and obliged to strike 
their colors. The smaller ships escaped ; for the American brigs were 
so badly crippled that pursuit could not be made. Nevertheless, the 
victory on the lake was complete and glorious. The news was carried 
ashore, Avhere the Americans were bravely contesting the passage of the 
river against overwhelming: numbers. At oue ford the British column 
succeeded in crossing ; but the tidings from the lake fired the militia with 
ardor ; they made a rush, and the enemy was driven back. Prevost, after 
losing nearly two thousand five hundred men and squandering two and a 
half million dollare in a fruitless campaign, retired precipitately to Canada. 
The ministry of England, made wise by the disasters of this invasion, 
began to devise measures looking to peace. 

In the country of the Chesapeake the scenes of the previous year 
were renewed by the British. Late in the summer Admiral Cochrane 



410 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

arrived off the coast of Virginia with an armament of twenty-one vessels. 
General Ross with an army of four thousand veterans, freed from service 
in Europe, came with the fleet. The American squadron, commanded 
by Commodore Barney, was unable to oppose so powerful a force. The 
enemy's flotilla entered the Chesapeake with the purpose of attacking 
Washington and Baltimore. The larger division of the British fleet 
sailed into the Patuxent, and on the 19th of August the forces of General 
Ross were landed at the town of Benedict. Commodore Barney was 
obliged to blow up his vessels and take to the shore. From Benedict the 
British advanced against Washington. At Bladensburg, six miles north- 
east of the capital, they were met, on the 24th of the month, by the 
militia and the marines under Barney. Here a battle was fought. The 
undisciplined militia behaved badly. Barney's seamen were overpowered 
by the British, and himself taken prisoner. The news of the defeat was 
rapidly borne to Washington. The President, the cabinet officers and 
the people betook themselves to flight, and Ross marched unopposed into 
the city. He had been ordered by his superiors to use the torch, and the 
work of destruction was accordingly begun. All the public buildings ex- 
cept the Patent Office were burned. The beautiful but unfinished Capitol 
and the President's house M^ere left a mass of blackened ruins. Many 
private edifices were also destroyed; but General Ross, himself a humane 
man, did less than he was ordered to do.* 

Five days after the capture of Washington, a portion of the British 
fleet, ascending the Potomac, reached Alexandria. The inhabitants of 
that town, in order to avoid the fate of the capital, purchased the forbear- 
ance of the enemy by the surrender of twenty-one ships, sixteen thousand 
barrels of flour and a thousand hogsheads of tobacco. Baltimore redeemed 
herself more bravely. Against that city, after the capture of AVashington, 
General Ross proceeded with his army and fleet. Meanwhile, the militia, 
to the number of ten thousand, had gathered under command of General 
Samuel Smith, a Revolutionary veteran. On the 12th of September the 
British were landed at North Point, at the mouth of the Patapsco ; and 
the fleet began the ascent of the river. The land-forces, after marching 
about halfway to Baltimore, were met by the Americans under General 
Strieker. A skirmish ensued in which General Ross was killed ; but 
Colonel Brooks assumed command of the invading army, and the march 
continued. When approaching the city, the British came upon the Ameri- 
can lines and were brought to a halt by a severe cannonade. General 

* An excuse for this outrageous barbarism was found in the previous conduct of the 
Americans, M'ho, at Toronto and other places on the Canadian frontier, had behaved but 
little better. 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 411 

Strieker, however, ordered his men to fall back to a second line of 
defences, from which they gave the enemy a permanent check. 

Meanwhile, the British squadron had ascended the Patapsco and 
begun the bombardment of Fort McHenry, at the entrance to the har- 
bor. From sunrise of the 13th until after niidnio;ht the ffuns of the 
fleet poured a tempest of shot and shells upon the fortress.* At the 
end of that time the soldiers of the garrison were as full of spirit and 
the works as strong as at the beginning. It was plain that the Brit- 
ish had undertaken more than they could accomplish. Disheartened 
and baffled, they ceased to fire. The land-forces retired from before 
the American entrenchments and re-embarked. The siege of Balti- 
more was at an end. 

During the summer of 1814 two expeditions were made against 
the British and Indians of the North-west. In INIay a force of two 
hundred men ascended the Mississippi froni St. Louis and took post 
at Prairie du Chien, a short distance above the mouth of the Wiscon- 
sin. The object was to overawe the hostile AVinnebagoes and Chip- 
pewas by establisliing an outpost in their territory. But before the 
fort was well begun a force of six hundred Canadians and Indians in- 
vested the place, and on the 17th of July compelled the detachment 
to surrender. The more important expedition was directed against 
the British fortress and depot of stores at MackinaAV. A regiment 
of six hundred men, commanded by Colonel Croghan, famous for his 
heroism at Sandusky, marched northward in midsummer from De- 
troit. Some vessels of Perry's fleet accompanied the land forces as a 
convoy ; but the movement was slow, and INIackinaw was not reached 
until the 4th of August. Finding the defences of the place too high 
and strong to be injured by his guns, Croghan ordered an assault, 
which was made with spirit, but repulsed. The enterprise was then 
abandoned, with no further injury to the British than the destruc- 
tion of some supplies and shipping in Georgian Bay. 

Xew England did not escape the ravages of war. On the 9th 
and 10th of August the village of Stonington, in the south-eastern 
corner of Connecticut, was bombarded by Commodore Hardy; but 
the British, attempting to land, were beaten back by the militia. 
The fisheries of the New England coast were for the most part bro- 
ken up. The salt-works at Cape Cod escaped only by the payment 
of heavy ransoms. All the principal harbors from Maine to Dela- 

* During the night of the bombardment, Francis S. Kev, detained on board a British 
ship and watching the American flag over Fort McHenry — seen at intervals by the ghire 
of rockets and the flash of cannon — composed The Star-spangled Banner. , 



412 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ware were under a rigorous blockade, and the foreign commerce of 
the Eastern States was totally destroyed. The beacons in the light- 
houses were allowed to burn out, and a general gloom settled over 
the country. 

From the beginning many of the people of New England had 
opposed the war. Their interests centred in ships and factories; the 
former were captured at sea, and the latter came to a stand-still. 
Industry was paralyzed. The members of the Federal party cried ont 
against the continuance of the contest. The legislature of Massachu- 
setts advised the calling of a convention. The other Eastern States 
responded to the call; and on the 14th of December the delegates 
assembled at Hartford. The objects of the convention were not very 
clearly expressed ; bnt opposition to the war and the policy of the 
administration Avas the leading principle. The leaders of the Dem- 
ocratic party, Avho supported the war-policy of the government, did 
not hesitate to say that the purposes of the assembly were disloyal 
and treasonable. Be that as it may, the convention ruined the Fed- 
eral party. After remaining in session with closed doors for nearly 
three weeks, the delegates pnblished an address more moderate and 
just than had been expected ; and then adjourned. But little hope 
of political preferment remained for those who participated in the 
Hartford convention. 

During the progress of the war the Spanish authorities of Flor- 
ida sympathized with the British. In the month of August .a de- 
tachment of the enemy's fleet was allowed by the commandant of 
Pensacola to use that post for the purpose of fitting out an expedition 
against Fort Bowyer, commanding the entrance to the bay of Mobile. 
On the 15th of September the latter post was attacked, but the assail- 
ants were driven off. General Jackson, who at that time commanded 
the American forces in the South, remonstrated with the Spaniards 
against this violation of neutrality, but received no satisfaction. Jack- 
son, Avhose way it was to mete out summary justice to offenders, marched 
a force against Pensacola, stormed the town and drove the British out 
of Florida. This was the beginning of the last campaign of the war. 

After the taking of Pensacola, General Jackson returned to his 
headquarters at Mobile. There he learned that the B,ritish were mak- 
ing formidable preparations for the conquest of Louisiana. Repairing 
at once to New Orleans, he assumed control of the city, declared mar- 
tial law, mustered the militia, and adopted the most vigorous meas- 
ures for repelling the invasion. From La Fitte, chief of a band of 
smugglers in the Bay of Barataria, he obtained information of the 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 413 

enemy's plans. The British army, numbering twelve thousand, came 
in a fleet of fifty vessels from Jamaica. Sir Edward Packenham, broth- 
er-in-luw of the duke of \Yellington, was commander of the invading 
forces. On the 10th of December the squadron entered the outlet of 
Lake Borgne, sixty miles north-east of New Orleans. Four days af- 
terward a flotilla of gun-boats which had been placed to guard the 
lake was captured by the British, but not until a severe loss had been 
inflicted on the enemy. 

On the 22d of the month Packenham's advance reached the 
Mississippi nine miles below the city. A detachment was sent to the 
western bank of the river, but this operation was checked by a counter 
movement on the part of the Americans. On the night of the 23d 
General Jackson sent a schooner down the Mississippi to bombard the 
British camp, while at the same time he and General Coffee advanced 
with two thousand Tennessee riflemen to attack Packenham's camp 
in front. After a bloody assault Jackson was obliged to retire, the 
enemy losing most in the engagement. On the following day Jackson 
fell back and took a strong position along the canal, four miles below 
the city. Packenham advanced, and on tlie 28tli cannonaded the 
American position with but little effect. On New Year's day the 
attack was renewed. The heavy guns of the British had now been 
brought into position ; but the Americans easily held their ground, and 
the enemy was again driven back. Packenham now made arrange- 
ments to lead his whole army in a grand assault on the American lines. 

Jackson w^as ready. Earthworks had been constructed, and a 
long line of cotton-bales and sand-bags thrown up for protection. On 
the morning of the memt>rable 8th of January the British moved for- 
ward. They went to a terrible fate. The battle began with the light 
of earlv morning, and was ended before nine o'clock. Packenham 
hurled column after column against the American position, and col- 
umn after column was smitten with irretrievable ruin. Jackson's men, 
beliind their breastworks, were almost entirely secure from the enemy's 
fire, while every discharge of the Tennessee and Kentucky rifles told 
■with awful effect on the exposed veterans of England. Packenham, 
trying to rally his men, was killed; General Gibbs, second in com- 
mand, was mortally wounded. General Keene fell disabled; only 
General Lambert was left to call the shattered fragments of the army 
from the field. Never was there in a great battle such disparity of 
losses. Of the British fully seven hundred were killed, fourteen hun- 
dred wounded, and five hundred taken prisoners. The American loss 
amounted to eight hilled and thirteen icounded. 



414 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

After the battle Jackson granted a truce for the burial of the 
British dead. That done, General Lambert recalled the detachment 
from the west bank of the river and retired with his ruined army into 
Lake Borgne. At Fort Bowyer he received the news of peace. 
Jackson marched into New Orleans with his victorious army, and was 
received with unbounded enthusiasm. Such, so far as operations by 
land were concerned, was the close of the war. On the ocean hostili- 
ties lingered until spring. On the 20th of February the American 
frigate Constitution, cruising off Cape St. Vincent, caught sight of two 
hostile vessels, gave chase, and after a severe fight captured them. 
They proved to be British brigs — the Cyane, of thirty-six guns, and 
the Levant, of eighteen. On the 23d of March the American Hornet, 
commanded by Captain Biddle, ended the conflict by capturing the 
British Pengidn off the coast of Brazil. 

Already a treaty of peace had been made and ratified. Both na- 
tions had long desired such a result. In the summer of 1814 Amer- 
ican commissioners were sent to Ghent, in Belgium, and were there 
met by Lord Gambler, Henry Goulburn and AVilliam Adams, ambas- 
sadors of Great Britain. The agents of the United States were John 
Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Bussell and 
Albert Gallatin. Several months were spent in negotiations ; and on 
the 24th of December, 1814, a treaty was agreed to and signed. In 
England the news was received with deep satisfaction; in the United 
States, with a delight bordering on madness. Before the terms of 
settlement could be known, the people broke forth in universal jubilee. 
Nobody stopped to inquire whether the treaty was good or bad, hon- 
orable or dishonorable. The Federalists found abundant reason for 
rejoicing that a war which they had persistently opposed as impolitic 
and unjust, was at an end. The Democrats sent up a double huzza, 
shouting first for Jackson's victory and afterward for peace. Nor 
could the country Avell be blamed for rejoicing that a conflict which 
had cost the United States a thousand six hundred and eighty-three 
vessels and more than eighteen thousand sailors, was ended. The 
Avar-cloud rolled away like an incubus from the public mind. The 
long blockaded, lialf-rotten shipping of New England was decked with 
flags and streamers, and in one day the dock-yards were ringing with 
the sound of saw and hammer. On the 18th of February the treaty 
Avas ratified by the Senate of the United States, and peace was publicly 
proclaimed. It was in the interim between the conclusion of the treaty 
and the reception of the news in the United States that the battle of New 
Orleans was fought. A telegraph Avould have saved all that bloodshed. 

There never was a more absurd treaty than that of Ghent." Its 



THE CAMPAIGNS OF '14. 415 

only significance was that Great Britain and the United States, having 
been at war, agreed to be at peace. Not one of the distinctive issnes 
to decide which the war had been undertaken was settled or even men- 
tioned. Of the impressment of American seamen not a word was said. 
The wrono-s done to the commerce of the United States were not re- 
•ferred to. The rights of neutral nations were left as undetermined as 
before. Of " free trade and sailors' rights/' which had been the battle- 
cry of the American navy, no mention was made. The principal articles 
of the compact were devoted to the settlement of unimportant bounda- 
ries and the possession of some petty islands in the Bay of Passama- 
quoddy. There is little doubt, however, that at the time of the treaty 
Great Britain gave the United States a private assurance that impress- 
ment and the other wrongs complained of by the Americans should be 
practiced no more. For the space of sixty years vessels bearing the flag 
of the United States have been secure from such insults as caused the war 
of 1812. Another advantage gained by America was the recognition of 
her naval power. It was no longer doubtful that American sailors were 
the i^eers in valor and patriotism of any seamen in the world. It was 
no small triumph for the Bepublic that her flag should henceforth be 
honored on every ocean. 

At the close of the conflict the country was burdened with a 
debt of a hundred million dollars. The monetary affairs of the na- 
tion were in a deplorable condition. The charter of the Bank of the 
United States expired in 1811, and in the followhig years the other 
banks of the country were obliged to suspend specie payment. The 
people were thus deprived of the currency necessary for the transac- 
tion of business. Domestic commerce was paralyzed by the want of 
money, and foreign trade destroyed by the enemy's fleet. In the year 
after the close of the war a bill was passed by Congress to recharter 
the Bank of the United States. The measure being objectionable, the 
President interposed his veto ; but in the following session the bill 
was again passed in an amended form. The capital was fixed at thir- 
ty-five million dollars. The central banking-house was established at 
Philadelphia, and branches were authorized at various other cities. 
On the 4th of March, 1817, the new financial institution went into 
operation ; and the business and credit of the country were thereby 
greatly improved. Meanwhile, the United States had been engaged 
in a foreign war. 

During the conflict with Great Britain the Algerine pirates re- 
newed their depredations on American commerce. As soon as the treaty 
of Ghent was concluded the government of the United States ordered 
Commodore Decatur, commanding a fleet of nine vessels, to proceed to 



416 HISTORY OF THE UXITED STATES. 

the Mediterranean and cliastise the Barbary sea-robbers into submission. 
On the 17th of June, Decatur, cruising near Gibraltar, fell in with the 
jjrincipal frigate of the Algerine squadron, and after a severe fight of 
twenty minutes compelled the Moorish ship to surrender. Thirty of the 
l^iratical crew, including the admiral, were killed, and more than four 
hundred taken prisoners. On the 19th Decatur captured another frigate, 
bearing twenty guns and a hundred and eight men. A few days after- 
ward he sailed into the Bay of Algiers, and dictated to the humbled and 
terrified dey the terms of a treaty. The Moorish emperor was obliged to 
release his American prisoners without ransom, to relinquish all claims to 
tribute, and to give a pledge that his ships should trouble American mer- 
chantmen no more. Decatur next sailed against Tunis and Tripoli, com- 
pelled both of these states to give pledges of good conduct, and to pay 
large sums for former violations of international law. From that day 
until the present the Barbary powers have had a wholesome dread of the 
American flag. 

The close of Madison's troubled administration was signalized by 
the admission of Indiana — the smallest of the Western States — into the 
Union. The new commonwealth, admitted in December, 1816, came 
M^th an area of nearly thirty-four thousand square miles, and a popula- 
tion of ninety-eight thousand. About the same time was founded the 
Colonization Society of the United States. Many of the most distin- 
guished men in America became members of the association, the object 
of which Avas to provide somewhere in the world a refuge for free persons 
of color. Liberia, on the western coast of Africa, was finally selected as 
the seat of the proposed colony. A republican form of government was 
established there, and immigrants arrived in sufficient numbers to found 
a flourishing negro State. The capital was named Monrovia, in honor of 
James Monroe, who, in the fall of 1816, was elected as Madison's suc- 
cessor in the presidency. At the same time Daniel D. Tompkins of Xew 
York was chosen Vice-President. 



CHAPTER LIT. 
MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 



TN its political principles the new administration was Democratic. The 
-L policy of Madison was adopted by his successor. But the stormy 
times of Madison gave place to many years of almost unbroken peace. 
The new President was a native of Virginia ; a man of great talents and 



MONROE'S ADIIINISTRATIOK 417 

accomplishments. He had been a Eevolutionary soldier ; a member of 
the House of Representatives; a senator; governor of Virginia; envoy 
to France ; minister to England ; secretary of state under Madison. The 
members of the new cabinet were — John Quincy Adams, secretary of state ; 
William H. Crawford, secretary of the treasury ; John C. Calhoun, secre- 
tary of war ; William Wirt, attorney-general. The animosities and party 
strifes of the previous years were in a measure forgotten. Statesmen of all 
parties devoted their energies to the payment of the national debt. It was 
a herculean task ; but commerce revived ; the government was economic- 
ally administered ; population increased ; wealth flowed in ; and in a few 
years the debt was honestly paid. 

In the first summer of Monroe's administration the attention of 
the United States was directed to the little kingdom of Hayti in the 
northern part of St. Domingo. Christophe, the sovereign of the 
country, was anxious to secure from America a recognition of Hay- 
tian independence ; for he feared that Louis XVIIL, the restored 
Bourbon king of France, would reclaim Hayti as a part of the French 
empire. The President met the overtures of Christophe with favor, and 
an agent was sent out in the frigate Congress to conclude a treaty of 
commerce with the kingdom. But the Haytian authorities refused to 
negotiate with an agent who was not regularly accredited as a minister 
to an independent state; and the mission resulted in failure and dis- 
appointment. 

In September of the same year an important treaty was con- 
cluded with the Indian nations of what was formerly the Northwestern 
Territory. The tribes mostly concerned were the Wyandots, Dela- 
wares, Senecas, and Shawnees ; but the Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pot- 
tawattamies were also interested in the treaty. The subject discussed 
was the cession, by purchase and otherwise, of various tracts of land, 
mostly in Ohio. The Indian title to about four millions of acres, em- 
bracing the valley of the Maumee, was extinguished by the payment 
to the tribes concerned of fourteen thousand dollars in cash. Besides 
this, the Dela wares were to receive an annuity of five hundred dollars; 
while to the Wyandots, Senecas, Shawnees and Ottawas was guaran- 
teed the payment of ten thousand dollars annually forever.. The 
Chippewas and Pottawattamies received an annuity of three thousand 
three hundred dollars for fifteen years. A reservation of certain tracts,, 
amounting in the aggregate to about three hundred thousand acres,, 
was made by the Red men with the approval of the government. For 
it was believed that the Indians, living in small districts surrounded 
with American farms and villages, would abandon barbarism for the 

27 



418 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

habits of civilized life. But the sequel proved that the men of the 
woods had no aptitude for such a change. 

In December of 1817 the western portion of Mississippi Terri- 
tory was organized as the State of Mississippi and admitted into the 
Union. The new State contained an area of forty-seven thousand 
square miles, and a population of sixty-five thousand souls. At the 
same time the attention of the government was called to a nest of 
buccaneers who had established themselves on Amelia Island, off the 
north-eastern coast of Florida. One Gregor McGregor, acting under 
a commission from the revolutionary authorities of New Granada and 
Venezuela, had put himself at the head of a band of adventurers, 
gathered mostly from Charleston and Savannah, and fortified the island 
as a rendezvous of slave-traders and South American privateers. It 
was thought by the audacious rascals that the well-known sympathy 
"of the United States for the Spanish American republics south of the 
Isthmus of Darien would protect them from attack. They accord- 
ingly proclaimed a blockade of St. Augustine and proceeded with their 
business as though there was no civilized power in the world. But 
the Federal government took a different view of the matter. An 
armament was sent against the pirates, and the lawless establishment 
was broken up. Another rendezvous of the same sort, on the island 
of Galveston, off the coast of Texas, was also suppressed. 

In the first year of Monroe's administration the question of inter- 
nal improvements began to be much agitated. The territorial vastness 
of the country made it necessary to devise suitable means of communi- 
cation between the distant parts. Without railroads and canals it was 
evident that the products of the great interior could never reach a 
market. Had Congress a right to vote money to make the needed 
improvements? Jefferson and Madison had both answered the ques- 
tion in the negative. Monroe held similar views; and* a majority of 
Congress voted against the proposed appropriations. In one instance, 
however, a bill was passed appropriating the means necessary for the 
construction of a national road across the Allcghanies, from Cumber- 
land to Wheeling. The question of internal improvements was then 
referred to the several States ; and Xew York took the lead by con- 
structing a splendid canal from Buffalo to Albany, a distance of three 
hundred and sixty-three miles. The cost of this important work was 
more than seven and a half million dollars, and the eight years of 
Monroe's administration were occupied in completing it. 

In the latter part (if 1817 the Seminole Indians on the frontiers of 
Georgia and Alabama became hostile. Some bad negroes and treacher- 



MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 419 

ous Creeks joined the savages In their depredations. General Gaines, 
commandant of a post on Flint River, was sent into the Seminole 
country, but after destroying a few villages his forces were found in- 
adequate to conquer the Red men. General Jackson was then ordered 
to collect from the adjacent States a sufficient army and reduce the 
Seminoles to submission. Instead of following his directions, that 
stern and self-willed man mustered a thousand riflemen from West 
Tennessee, and in the spring of 1818 overran the hostile country with 
little opposition. The Indians were afraid to fight the man whom 
they had named the Big Knife. 

While engaged in this expedition against the Seminoles, Jackson 
entered Florida and took possession of the Spanish post at St. Mark's. 
He deemed it necessary to do so in order to succeed in suppressing 
the savages. The Spanish troops stationed at St. Mark's were removed 
to Pensacola; and two Englishmen, named Arbuthnot and Ambrister, 
who fell into Jackson's hands, were charged with inciting the Semi- 
noles to insurrection, tried by a court-martial, and hanged. Jackson 
then advanced against Pensacola, captured the town, besieged and took 
the fortress of Barancas, at the entrance to the bay, and sent the Span- 
ish authorities to Havana. These summary proceedings excited much 
comment throughout the country. The enemies of General Jackson 
condemned him in unmeasured terms ; but the President and Con- 
gress justified his deeds. A resolution of censure, introduced into the 
House of Representatives, was voted down by a large majority. The 
king of Spain complained much ; but his complaint was unheeded. 
Seeing that the defence of such a province would cost more than it 
was worth, the Spanish monarch then proposed to cede the territory 
to the United States. For this purpose negotiations were opened at 
Washington City ; and on the 22d of February, 1819, a treaty was 
concluded by Avhich East and West Florida and the outlying islands 
were surrendered to the American government. In consideration of 
the cession the United States agreed to relinquish all claim to the ter- 
ritory of Texas and to pay to American citizens, for depredations com- 
mitted by Spanish vessels, a sum not exceeding five million dollars. 
By the same treaty the eastern boundary of Mexico was fixed at the 
River Sabine. 

The year 1819 was noted for a great financial crisis — the first of 
many that have occurred to disturb and distress the country. With 
the reorganization of the Bank of the United States in 1817, the im- 
proved fiicilitics for credit gave rise to many extravagant speculations, 
generally conceived in dishonesty and carried on by fraud. The great 



^ 



420 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

branch bank at Baltimore was especially infested by a band of unscru- 
pulous speculators who succeeded, in connivance with the officers, in 
withdrawing from the institution fully two millions of dollars beyond 
its securities. President Cheves, however, of the superior Board of 
Directors, adopted a policy which exposed the prevailing rascality, 
and by putting an end to the system of unlimited credits, gradually 
restored the business of the country to a firmer basis. But, for the 
time being, financial affairs were thrown into confusion; and the 
Bank of the United States itself was barely saved from suspension 
and bankruptcy. 

Monroe's administration Avas noted for the great number of new 
members which were added to the Union, In 1818, Illinois, the 
twenty-first State, embracing an area of more than fifty-five thousand 
square miles, was organized and admitted. The population of the 
new commonwealth was forty-seven thousand. In December of the 
following year Alabama was added, with a population of a hundred 
and twenty-five thousand, and an area • of nearly fifty-one thousand 
square miles. About the same time Arkansas Territory was organ- 
ized out of the southern portion of the Territory of ISIissouri. Early 
in 1820 the province of Maine, which had been under the jurisdic- 
diction of Massachusetts since 1652, was separated from that govern- 
ment and admitted into the Union. At the time of admission the 
population of the new State had reached two hundred and ninety- 
eight thousand ; and its territory embraced nearly thirty-two thou- 
sand square miles. In August of 1821 the great State of Missouri, 
Avith an area of sixty-seven thousand square miles, and a population 
of seventy-four thousand, was admitted as the twenty-fourth member 
of the Union ; but the admission Avas attended Avith a political agita- 
tion so violent as to threaten the peace of the country. 

The bill to organize Missouri as a territory A\'as brought forward 
in February of 1819. The institution of slavery had already been 
planted there, and the question Avas raised in Congress A\diether the 
ncAV State should be admitted Avith the existing system of labor, or 
Avhether by congressional action slaA^e-holding should be prohibited. 
On motion of James Tallmadge of Ncav York a clause AA^as inserted in 
the territorial bill forbidding any further introduction of slaves into 
Missouri and granting freedom to all slave-children on reaching the 
age of tAventy-five. The bill as thus amended became the organic 
law of the territory. A few days afterwards AA^hen Arkansas Avas 
presented for territorial organization, John W. Taylor of New York 
moved the insertion of a clause similar to that in the Missouri bill ; 



MONROE'S ADMINISTRATION. 421 

but the proposed amendment was voted down after a hot debate. 
Taylor then made a motion that hereafter, in the organization of ter- 
ritories out of the Louisiana purchase, slavery should be interdicted 
in all that part north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty 
minutes. This proposition was also lost after a very excited discus- 
sion. Meanwhile, Tallmadge's amendment to the Missouri bill was 
defeated in the Senate, and as a consequence both the new territories 
were organized icithout restrictions in the matter of slavery. 

"When the bill to admit ISIissouri as a State was finally, in Jan- 
uary of 1820, brought before Congress, the measure was opposed by 
those who had desired the exclusion of slavery. But at that time the 
new Free State of INIaine w^as asking for admission into the Union ; 
and those who favored slavery in Missouri determined to exclude 
Maine unless Missouri should also be admitted. After another angry 
debate, which lasted till the 16th of February, the bill coupling the 
two new States together was actually passed; and then Senator Thomas 
of Illinois made a motion that henceforth and forever slavery should 
be excluded from all that part of the Louisiana cession — Missouri 
excepted — lying north of the parallel of thirty-six degrees and thirty 
minutes. Such was the celebrated Missouri Compeomise, one of the 
most important acts of American legislation — a measure chiefly sup- 
ported by the genius, and carried through Congress by the persistent 
efforts, of Henry Clay. The principal conditions of the plan were 
these : first, the admission of Missouri as a slave-holding State ; sec- 
ondly, the division of the rest of the Louisiana purchase by the par- 
allel of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes; thirdly, the admission 
of new States, to be formed out of the territory south of that line, with 
or without slavery, as the people might determine ; fourthly, the pro- 
hibition of slavery in all the new States to be organized out of terri- 
tory north of the dividing-line. By this compromise the slavery agi- 
tation was allayed until 1849. 

Meanwhile, the country had measurably recovered from the 
effects of the late war. With peace and plenty the resources of the 
nation were rapidly augmented. Toward the close of his term the 
President's administration grew into high favor with the people; and 
in the Ml of 1820 he Avas re-elected with great unanimity. As Vice- 
President, Mr. Tompkins was also chosen for a second term. Scarcely 
had the excitement over the admission of Missouri subsided when the 
attention of the government was called to an alarming system of 
piracy which had sprung up in the West Indies. Early in 1822 the 
American frigate Congress, accompanied with eight smaller vessels, 



422 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

was sent thither; and in the course of the year more than twenty 
piratical ships were captured. In the following summer Commodore 
Porter was despatched with a larger fleet to cruise about Cuba and 
the neighboring islands. Such was his vigilance that the retreats of 
the sea-robbers were completely broken up; not a pirate was left 
afloat. 

At this time the countries of South America were disturbed 
with many revolutions. From the days of Pizarro these states had 
been dependencies of European monarchies. Now they declared their 
independence, and struggled to maintain it by force of arms. The 
people of the United States, having achieved their own liberty, nat- 
urally sympathized with the patriots of the South. Mr. Clay urged 
upon the government the duty of giving official recognition to the 
South American republics. At last his views prevailed ; and in March 
of 1822 a bill was passed by Congress recognizing the new states as 
sovereign nations. In the following year this action was followed up 
by the President with a vigorous message, in which he declared that 
for the future the American continents were not to he considered as sub- 
jects for colonization by any European povrr. This famous declara- 
tion constitutes what has ever since been known in the politics and 
diplomacy of the United States as the INIonroe Doctrine — a doc- 
trine by which the entire Western hemisphere is consecrated to free 
institutions. 

Great Avas the joy of the American people in the summer of 
1824. The venerated La Fayette, now aged and gray, returned once 
more to visit the land for whose freedom he had shed his blood. The 
honored patriots who had fought by his side came forth to greet him. 
The younger heroes crowded around him. In every city, and on 
every battle-field which he visited, he Avas surrounded by a throng of 
shouting freemen. His jouniey through the country was a triumph. 
It was a solemn and sacred moment when he stood alone by the grave 
of Washington. Over the dust of the great dead the patriot of 
France paid the homage of his tears. In September of 1825 he bade 
a final adieu to the people who had made him their guest, and then 
sailed for his native land. At his departure, the frigate Brandy- 
wine — a name significant for him — was prepared to bear him away. 
While Liberty remains to cheer the West, the name of La Fayette 
shall be hallowed. 

Before the departure of the illustrious Frenchman another pres- 
idential election had been held. It was a time of great excitement 
and much division of sentiment. Four candidates were presented for 



ADA3IS'S ADMINISTRATION. 



423 



the suiFrages of the people. There was an appearance of sectionalism 
in the canvass. John Quincy Adams was put forward as the candi- 
date of the East; 
William H. Craw- 
ford of Georgia as 
the choice of the 
South j Henry Clay 
and Andrew Jack- 
son as the favorites 
of the West. Nei- 
ther candidate re- 
ceived a majority of 
the electoral votes, 
and for the second 
time in the history 
of the government 
the choice of Presi- 
dent was referred to 
the House of Rep- 
resentatives. By 
that body Mr. Ad- 
ams was duly elec- 
ted. For Vice- 
President, John C. 
Calhoun of South Carolina had been chosen by the electoral college. 




LA FAYETTE. 



CHAPTER LIII, 



ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION, 1S25-1829. 



THE new President was inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1825. 
He was a man of the highest attainments in literature and states- 
manship. At the age of eleven years he accompanied his father, John 
Adams, to Europe. At Paris and Amsterdam and St. Petersburg the 
son continued his studies, and at the same time became acquainted 
with the manners and politics of fhe Old World. The vast opportu- 
nities of his youth were improved to the fullest extent. In his riper 
years he served his country as ambassador to the Netherlands^ Portu- 



424 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

gal, Prussia, Russia and England. Such were his abilities in the field 
of diplomacy as to elicit from Washington the extraordinary praise of 
being the ablest minister of which America could boast. His life, from 
1794 till 1817, was devoted almost wholly to diplomatical services at 
the various European capitals. At that critical period when the rela- 
tions of the United States with foreign nations were as yet not well 
established, his genius secured the adojition of treaty after treaty in 
which the interests of his country wei^ guarded with patriotic vigi- 
lance. In 1806 he was honored with the professorship of Rhetoric 
and Belles-Lettres at Harvard College of which he was an alumnus. 
He had also held the office of United States senator from Massachu- 
setts; and on the accession of Monroe to the presidency was chosen 
secretary of state. To the presidential chair he brought the wisdom 
of mature years, great experience and unusual ability. 

The new administration was an epoch of peace and prosperity in 
the country ; but the spirit of party manifested itself with much vio- 
lence. Tlie adherents of General Jackson and Mr. Crawford united 
in opposition to the policy of the President; and there was a want of 
unanimity between the different departments of the government. In 
the Senate the political friends of Mr. Adams were in a minority, 
and their majority in the lower House only lasted for one session. 
In his inaugural address the President strongly advocated the doc- 
trine of internal improvements ; but the adverse views of Congress 
prevented his recommendations from being adopted. 

For a quarter of a century a difficulty had existed between the 
government of the United States and Georgia in respect to the lands 
held in that State by the Creek Indians. When, in 1802, Georgia 
relinquished her claim to Mississippi Territory, the general govern- 
ment agreed to purchase and surrender to the State all the Creek 
lands lying within her own borders. This pledge on the part of the 
United States had never been fulfilled, and Georgia complained of 
bad faith. The difficulty became alarming ; but finally, in March of 
1826, a treaty was concluded between the Creek chiefs and the Pres- 
ident, by which a cession of all their lands in Georgia was obtained. 
At the same time the Creeks agreed to remove to a new home beyond 
the Mississippi. 

On the 4th of July, 1826 — -just fifty years to a day after the Dec- 
laration of Independence — the venerable John Adams, second Presi- 
dent of the United States, and his successor, Thomas Jefferson, both 
died. Both had lifted their voices for freedom in the early and per- 
ilous days of the Revolution. One had written and both had signed 



18;S5 



29 



33 



Charles X. 



(icoruc IV, 



Frederick Wil liain III. I 

27. Acknowl etlgiuent of the independ ence of Greece 



3U. French Revulu tioii and fUction of 
Louis Philippe. 
28. Abojlitiou of the " Test Act." 

30. Polish Pu'volution. 
j 31. Fall of Warsaw. 

32. Pas I sage of the Great Reform 
I 3(1. William IV. 



37 

40. ] 

37. Attempted capture 

30. Suppn 

4(i.T 

bill hy ParliaiiK'iit. 

I 37. Victoria. 



John Q.Adams, 

25. Controversv concern 



President, 
ingthe lands of the Creek! Indians. 

Andrew Jack son, President. 



The 



20. John Adams 
2(3. Thomas Jeff 

John C. Calh 

28. Gr 



d. .Inly 4. 
erson d. Julv 4. 



37. Michigan admitte 



36. Ar kansas admitted into ti 



Black Hawk War. 



Jackson re-elected I'resident. 



35. Seminole War. 



Martin Van B 

OUll, Vice-President. 

32. The bill to rocharter the I'ni t.d States Bank vetoed 

.:7. Failure of the Si 
throughout till' couiitrv. 



eat political excitement 



Calhoun re-elected 



33. Removal nf tlie Cherokec-« 



40.1 



Vice-President. 
32. Grea t tariff excitement. 

32. The doctrineofiiullifieationde clared by South Carolii 
32. Proc lamatioii l)y the President. 

Martin" Van Buren, Vice-President. 

33. Passage of .Mr. Clay's Compromise bill. 

Richard M. Jc 

33. Removal of Govern ment funds from the I 
I 37. Financial crisis. 




taken by the Texans. 

'« *l The Alamo. 
TEX AS INDEPEXDEN 

38. Lamar, Pr 

M /San Jacinto. 



Santa Anna, President., 38. Vera Cruzbt 

36. The I Central Republic" d 

137. Bnstamente, Pi 



41 



45 



49 



53 



'derick William IV. 

Jadrid l)y I Urn Carlos. 

on of ihe C'arlists in Sp 
body of Xapoleon return 



48. Oultbreak of the Hungarian Revolution. 
46. Election of Pius IX. r)2. Fail of Kossuth and the lluii- 

4S. He volution in France. ga rian cause. 
4S. A 'republic i)roclainied. 



48. Lo 



ain. 

ed to France. 



uis Napoleou Boiiapa rti- elected President. 
')!'. Lo uiis Napoleon, ['resi- 
dent for ten years. 
52. Lo uisXapoleon,EniiKiur. 

o4. The Crimean War. 



nto the Union. 

43. The Dorr 



Jnion. 



44. First 



H. The Webster- Ashbur- 
ton treaty. 



reil, President. 

the President, 
reasurv l)ill. 



James K. Polk, President. 
45. Florida admitted into the Tnion. 



K 11 UK ^ T 1 A Zachary Taylor, 

rebelhonin Rhode Island.: (Died July !M 1850.) 

4(J. Iowa admitted jinto the Union, 
telegraph line in the Uni ted States. 

48. Wis cousin admitted into the 

46. Thenorth-weste rn lutundarv tixed at 4!i°. 



46. General Taylor 
46. Congress declar 



46. 



B 



Palo Alto. 



ordered to tlie Rio Grande. 
es war airainst Me.vieo. 



President. 



Fr'iikliii Pierce, 

Union. [President. 



46. '• HRemca de hi Palnw. 



54. Treaty with Ja- 
l>au. 

54. Passage of the 
Kansa.s and 
Nebraska bill. 



William H. Har 

(Died April 4, 

&g^ of the Treasury bill. 

H. Treasury bill re|>ealed.i 

H. Passageof the liankrulpt law. 

11. Veto of the United Sta tes Hank, 
and resignation of the Presi- 
dent's Cabinet. 



46. *• ' vOaptare of Mutximoras. 

46. * ^Muiilrrey. 

George .H. Dallas, j Vice-President. j 

48. Dis covery of gold in California, 
risOIl, President. | 

1841.) 3Iillarcl FilllllO re, Vice-President, and 

K^ President from July, 1850. 

47. P- ^\Bue\na Vista. 

k^ W. R. King, Vice-Pres, 



54. The Missouri 
Compromise rej)caled. 



54. Troubles in 
Kansas. 



ISOn, Vice-President, 
ed States liank. 

John Tyler, vice- 

and President from April, 



H. Ilonston, President, 
lent. 



11. Santa Anna, Presid 

jed by the French, 
ired. 

Iciil. 



President, 
1841. 



47.1^ VeraC 

-Pi 

47. y}^ Con treras 
47 



51. The Fuu'i live Slave Jaw i)assed. 

Cer ro Gordo. 

50. Utah erected into a Territorial government. 



J^^ Mol ino del Rey. 

''~\\ 49. New Mexico erected 

47. ^^Gha^pultepec. 

47. ^tij-^'"'' of Mexico. 

48. Tre aty of peace with Me.xico. 
I 
45. Texas admitted into , the Union. 

50. The " Omnibus 



ent. 



.')n. Califnri; 



into a Territorial govern- 
ment. 



1 

Bill " passed. 1 




ADAMS'S ADMINISTRATION. 425 

the great Declaration. Both had lived to see their country's independ- 
ence. Both had served that country in its highest official station. Both 
had reached extreme old age : Adams was ninety ; Jefferson, eiglity- 
two. Now, while the cannon were booming for the fiftieth birthday 
of the nation, the gray and honored patriots passed, almost at the same 
hour, from among the living. 

In the following September, William Morgan, a resident of 
Western New York, having threatened to publish the secrets of 
the INIasonic fraternity, of which he was a member, suddenly disap- 
peared from his home, and was never heard of afterward. The ]Ma- 
sons fell under the suspicion of having abducted and murdered him. 
A great clamor was raised against them in New York, and the ex- 
citement extended to other parts of the country. The issue between 
the Masons and their enemies became a political one, and many emi- 
nent men were embroiled in the controversy. For several years the 
anti-Masonic party exercised a considerable influence in the elections 
of the country. De Witt Clinton, one of the most prominent and 
valuable statesmen of New York, had to suffer much, in loss of repu- 
tation, from his membership in the order. His last days were clouded 
with the odium which for the time being attached to the Masonic 
name. 

In the congressional debates of 1828 the question of the tariff 
was much discussed. By a tariff is understood a duty levied on im- 
ported goods. The object of the same is twofold : first, to produce a 
revenue for the government; and secondly, to raise the price of the 
article on which the duty is laid, in order that the domestic manu- 
facturer of the thing taxed may be able to compete with the foreign 
producer. When the duty is levied for the latter purpose, it is called 
a protective tariff. Whether it is sound policy for a nation to have 
protective duties is a question which has been much debated in all 
civilized countries. Mr. Adams and his friends decided in fiivor of 
a tariff; and in 1828 the duties on fabrics made of wool, cotton, linen 
and silk, and those on articles manufactured of iron, lead, etc., were 
much increased. The object of such legislation was to stimulate the 
manufacturing interests of the country. The question of the tariff 
has always been a sectional issue. The people of the Eastern and 
Middle States, where factories abound, have favored protective du- 
ties ; while in the agricultural regions of the South and West such 
duties have been opposed. 

The administration of John Quincy Adams was the beginning 
of a new epoch in the history of the United States. The Revolution- 



426 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

aiy sages had gradually fallen out of the ranks of leadership; and the 
influences of the llevolution were not any longer distinctly felt in the 
decision of national questions. Even the war of 1812, with its bitter 
jmrty antagonisms, its defeats and victories, and its absurd ending, was 
fading out of memory, New dispositions and tastes arose among the 
people ; new issues confronted the public ; new methods prevailed in 
the halls of legislation. Old party lines could no longer be traced ; 
old party names were reduced to a jargon. Already the United States 
had surpassed in growth and development the sanguine expectations 
of the fathers. But the conflicting opinions and interests of the na- 
tion, reflected in the stormy debates of Congress, gave cause for con- 
stant auxiety and alarm. 

With the fall of 1828 came another presidential election. The 
contest was specially exciting. Mr. Adams, sujjported by Mr. Clay, 
the secretary of state, was put forward for re-election. In accordance 
with an understanding which had existed for several years. General 
Jackson appeared as the candidate of the opposition. In the previ- 
ous election Jackson had received more electoral votes than Adams; 
but disregarding the popular preference, the House of Representa- 
tives had chosen the latter. Now the people were determined to 
have their way; and Jackson was triumphantly elected, receiving a 
hundred and seventy-eight electoral votes against eighty-three for 
his opponent. As soon as the election was over, the excitement — 
as usual in such cases — abated ; and the thoughts of the people were 
turned to other subjects. 



CHAPTER LIV. 

JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 1829-18S7. 

THE new President was a native of North Carolina, born on the 
AVaxhaw, March 15th, 1767. His belligerent nature broke out in 
boyhood, and his mother's plan of devoting him to the ministry was 
hopelessly defeated. At the age of thirteen he was under arms and 
witnessed Sumter's defeat at Hanging Rock. He was captured by the 
British, maltreated, and left to die of smallpox ; but his mother se- 
cured his release from prison and his life was saved. After the Revo- 
lution he began the study of law, and at the age of twenty-one went 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTBATIOK 



427 



to Nashville. In 1796 he was elected to the House of Representatives 
from the new State of Tennessee. Here his turbulent and willful dis- 
position manifested itself in full force. During the next year he was 
promoted to the Senate, where he remained a year, ivithout making a 
speech or casting a 
vote. He then re- 
signed his seat and 
returned home. His 
subsequent career is a 
part of the history of 
the country, more par- 
ticularly of the South- 
west with which sec- 
tion his name was 
identified. He came 
to the presidential of- 
fice as a military hero. 
But he was more than 
that: a man of great 
native powers and in- 
flexible honesty. 
His talents were 
strong but unpol- 
ished ; his integrity 
unassailable; his wall 
like iron. He was 
one o f those m e n 

for whom no toils are too arduous, no responsibility too great. His 
personal character was strongly impressed upon his administration. 
Believing that the public affairs would be best conducted by such 
means, he removed nearly seven hundred office-holders, and appointed 
in their stead his own political friends. In defence of such a course 
the precedent established by Mr. Jefferson was pleaded. 

In his first annual message the President took strong grounds 
against rechartering the Bank of the United States. Believing that 
institution to be both inexpedient and unconstitutional, he recom- 
mended that the old charter should be allowed to expire by its own 
limitation in 1836. But the influence of the bank, with its many 
branches, was very great; and in 1832 a bill to recharter was brought 
before Congress and passed. To this measure the President opposed 
his veto; and since a two-thirds majority in favor of the bill could not 




ANDREW JACKSON. 



428 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

be secured, the proposition to grant a new charter failed, and the bank 
ceased by the original limitation. 

It was in the early part of Jackson's administration that the 
partisan elements of the country, which for some years had been 
whirling about in a chaotic condition, was resolved into the two great 
factions of Whig and Democratic — a form which remained as the es- 
stablished order in politics for a quarter of a century. The old Fed- 
eral party, under whose auspices the government was organized, had 
lost control of national affairs on the retirement of John Adams from 
the presidency. Still the party lingered, opi^osed the war of 1812, and 
became odious from its connection with the Hartford Convention. In 
1820 only enough of the old organization remained to be severely 
handled in the great debates on the Missouri Compromise. Then fol- 
lowed, during Monroe's second term, what is known in American po- 
litical history as the Era of Good Feeling. Partisanship seemed 
ready to expire. On the other side, the line of political descent had 
begun with the anti-Federalists who after opposing the National consti- 
tution and the administrative policy of Washington and Adams, became 
under the name of Republicans the champions of France as against 
Great Britain. But this name was soon exchanged for that of Demo- 
crats; and under that title the party came into power with the admin- 
istration of Jefferson. Then followed the administrations of Madison, 
Monroe, and John Quincy Adams under the same political banner. 
But in the case of Adams the new forces were already at work. When 
Jackson became President his arbitrary measures alarmed the country 
and drove all the elements of the opposition into a compact phalanx 
under the leadership of Clay and Webster. To this new party organi- 
zation the name of Whig was given — a name taken from the old 
Scotch Covenanters and English republicans of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, worn by the patriots of the American Revolution to distinguish 
them from the Tories, and now adopted as the permanent title of the 
opponents of Jeffersonian Democracy. 

The reopening of the tariff question occasioned great excitement 
in Congress and throughout the country. In the session of 1831-32 
additional duties were levied upon manufactured goods imported from 
abroad. By this act the manufacturing districts were again favored 
at the expense of the agricultural States. South Carolina was spe- 
cially offended. A great convention of her people was held, and it 
was resolved that the tariff-law of Congress was unconstitutional, and 
therefore null and void. Oj)en resistance was threatened in case the 
officers of the government should attempt to collect the revenues in 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 



429 



the harbor of Charleston. In the United States Senate the right of a 
State, under certain circumstances, to nullify an act of Congress was 
boldly proclaimed. On that issue occurred the famous debate be- 
tween the eloquent Colonel Hayne, senator from South Carolina, and 
Daniel Webster 
of Massachusetts, per- 
haps the greatest mas- 
ter of American ora- 
tory. The former ap- 
peared as the cham- 
pion of State rights, 
and the latter as the 
advocate of constitu- 
tional supremacy. 

But the question 
was not decided by 
debate. The Presi- 
dent took the matter 
in hand and issued a 
proclamation denying 
the right of any State 
to nullify the laws of 
Congress. But Mr. 
Calhoun, the Vice- 
President, resigned his 

office to accept a seat in the Senate, where he might better defend 
the doctrines of his State. The President, having warned the people 
of South Carolina against pursuing those doctrines further, ordered a 
body of troops under General Scott to proceed to Charleston, and also 
sent thither a man-of-war. At this display of force the leaders of the 
nullifying party quailed and receded from their position. Bloodshed 
was happily avoided ; and in the following spring the excitement was 
allayed by a compromise. Mr. Clay brought forward and secured the 
passage of a bill providing for a gradual reduction of the duties 
complained of until, at the end of ten years, they should reach the 
standard demanded by the South. 

In the spring of 1832 the Sac, Fox and Winnebago Indians of 
Wisconsin Territory began a war. They were incited and led by the 
famous chief Black Hawk, who, like many great sachems before him, 
believed in tlie possibility of an Indian confederacy sufficiently pow- 
erful to beat back the whites. The lands of the Sacs and Foxes, 




DANIEL WEBSTER. 



430 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

lying in the Rock River country of Illinois, had been purchased by 
the government twenty-five years previously. The Indians, however, 
remained in the ceded territory, since there was no occasion for im- 
mediate occupation by the whites. When at last, after a quarter of a 
century, the Indians were required to give possession, they caviled at 
the old treaty, and refused to comply. The government insisted that 
the Red men should fulfill their contract, and hostilities began on the 
frontier. The governor of Illinois called out the militia, and General 
Scott was sent with nine companies of artillery to Chicago. At that 
place his force was overtaken with the cholera, and he was prevented 
from co-operating with the troops of General Atkinson. The latter, 
however, waged a vigorous campaign against the Indians, defeated 
them in several actions, and made Black Hawk prisoner. The cap- 
tive chieftain was taken to Washington and the great cities of the 
East, where his understanding was opened as to the power of the 
nation against -which he had been foolish enough to lift his hatchet. 
Returning to his own people, he advised them that resistance was 
hopeless. The warriors then abandoned the disputed lands and re- 
tired into Iowa. 

Difficulties also arose with the Cherokees of Georgia. These 
Avere the most civilized and humane of all the Indian nations. They 
had adopted the manners of the whites. They had pleasant farms, 
goodly towns, schools, printing-presses, a written code of laAvs. The 
government of the United States had given to Georgia a pledge to 
purchase the Cherokee lands for the benefit of the State. The pledge 
was not fulfilled ; the authorities of Georgia grew tired of waiting 
for the removal of the Indians; and the legislature passed a statute by 
which the government of the Red men was abrogated and the laws of 
the State extended over the Indian domain. With singular illiberal- 
ity, it was at the same time enacted that the Cherokees and Creeks 
should not have the use of the State courts or the protection of the laws. 
This code, however, was declared unconstitutional by the supreme court 
of the United States. The Indians then appealed to the President for 
help ; but he refused to interpose between them and the laws of Geor- 
gia. He also recommended the removal of the Cherokees to lands be- 
yond the Mississippi ; and with this end in view, the Indian Teeri- 
TORY was organized in the year 1834. The Indians yielded with great 
reluctance. More than five million dollars were paid them for their 
lands ; but still they clung to their homes. At last General Scott 
was ordered to remove them to the new territory, using force if 
necessary to accomplish the work. The years 1837-38 were oc- 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTBATIOK 431 

cupied with the final transfer of the Cherokees to their homes in 
the West. 

More serious still was the conflict with the Seminoles of Florida. 
The trouble arose from an attempt on the part of the government to 
remove the tribe to a new domain beyond the Mississippi. Hostili- 
ties began in 1835. and continued for four years. The chief of the 
Seminoles was Osceola, a half-breed of great talents and audacity. He 
and Micanopy, another chieftain, denied the validity of a former treaty 
by which the Seminole lands had been ceded to the government. So 
haughty was the bearing of Osceola that General Thompson, the agent 
of the government in Florida, arrested him and put him in irons. 
The red warrior dissembled his purpose, gave his assent to the old 
treaty, and was liberated. As might have been foreseen, he immedi- 
ately entered into a conspiracy to slaughter the whites and devastate 
the country. 

At this time the interior of Florida was held by General Clinch, 
who had his headquarters at Fort Drane, seventy-five miles south-west 
from St. Augustine. The post was considered in danger; and Major 
Dade with a hundred and seventeen men was despatched from Fort 
Brooke, at the head of Tampa Bay, to reinforce General Clinch. After 
marching about half the distance, Dade's forces fell into an ambus- 
cade, and were all massacred except one man who was left alive un- 
der a heap of the dead. On the same day Osceola, with a band of 
warriors, prowling around Fort King, on the Ocklawaha, surrounded 
a storehouse where General Thompson was dining with a company of 
friends. The savages poured in a murderous fire, and then rushed 
forward and scalped the dead before the garrison of the fort, only 
two hundred and fifty yards away, could bring assistance. General 
Thompson's body was pierced by fifteen balls ; and four of his nine 
companions were killed. 

On the 31st of December General Clinch fought a battle with 
the Indians on the banks of the Withlacoochie. The savages were 
repulsed, but Clinch thought it prudent to retreat to Fort Drane. In 
the following February General Scott took command of the American 
forces in Florida. On the 29th of the same month General Gaines, 
who was advancing from the West with a force of a thousand men 
for the relief of Fort Drane, was attacked near the battle-field where 
Clinch had fought. The Seminoles made a furious onset, but were 
repulsed with severe losses. In May some straggling Creeks who 
still remained in the country began hostilities ; but they were soon 
subdued and compelled to seek their reservation beyond the Missis- 



432 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

sippi. In October of 1836 Governor Call of Florida marched with 
a force of two thousand men against the Indians of the interior. A 
division of his army overtook the enemy in the Wahoo Swamp^ a 
short distance from the scene of Dade's massacre. A battle ensued, 
and the Indians were driven into the Everglades with considerable 
losses. Soon afterward another engagement was fought on nearly the 
same ground; and again the savages were beaten, though not deci- 
sively. The remainder of the history of the Seminole War belongs 
to the following administration. 

In the mean time the President had given a final quietus to 
the Bank of the United States. After vetoing the bill to recharter 
that institution, he conceived that the surplus funds which had accu- 
mulated in its vaults would be better distributed among the States. 
He had no warrant of law for such a step; but believing himself to 
be in the right, he did not hesitate to take the resj)onsibility. Ac- 
cordingly, in October of 1833, lie ordered the accumulated funds of 
the great bank, amounting to about ten million dollars, to be distri- 
buted among certain State banks designated for that purpose. This 
action on the part of the President was denounced by the opposition 
as a measure of incalculable mischief — unwarranted, arbitrary, dan- 
gerous. In the Senate a powerful coalition, headed by Calhoun, Clay, 
and Webster, was formed against the President; and the new officers, 
who had been appointed to carry out his measures, were rejected. A 
resolution censuring his conduct was then introduced and carried; but 
a similar 2)roposition failed in the House of Representatives. For a 
while there was a general cry of indignation, and it seemed that the 
administration would be overwhelmed; but the President, ever as 
fearless as he was self-willed and stubborn, held on his course, un- 
moved by the clamor. The resolution of censure stood upon the jour- 
nal of the Senate for four years and was then expunged from the 
record through the influence of Senator Thomas H. Benton of Mis- 
souri. The financial panic of 1836-7, following soon after the 
removal of the funds, was attributed by the opponents of the admin- 
istration to the President's arbitrary action and the prospective des- 
truction of the national bank. To these strictures the adherents of 
his own party replied that the financial distress of the country was 
attributable to the bank itself, which was declared to be an institution 
too powerful and despotic to exist in a free government. The Presi- 
dent was but little concerned with the excitement: he had just en- 
tered on his second term, with Martin Van Buren for Vice-President 
instead of Mr. Calhoun. 

In 1834 the strong will of the chief magistrate was brought into 



JACKSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 435 

conflict Mitli France. The American government held an old claim 
against that country for damages done to the commerce of the United 
States in the wars of Napoleon. In 1831 the French king had agreed 
to pay five million dollars for the alleged injuries; but the dilatory 
government of France postponed and neglected the payment until 
the President, becoming wrathful, recommended to Congress to make 
reprisals on French commerce, and at the same time directed the 
American minister at Paris to demand his passports and come home. 
These measures had the desired effect, and the indemnity was promptly 
paid. The government of Portugal was brought to terms in a similar 
manner. 

The country, though flourishing, %vas not without calamities. 
Several eminent statesmen fell by the hand of death. On the 4th of 
July, 1831, ex-President Monroe passed away. Like Jefferson and 
Adams, he sank to rest amid the rejoicings of the national anniver- 
sary. In the following year Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last 
surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, died at the age 
of ninety-six. A short time afterward Philip Freneau, the poet of 
the Revolution, departed from the land of the living. The patriot 
bard had reached the age of eighty. In May of 1833 John Randolph 
of Roanoke died at his home in Virginia. He was a man admired 
for his talents, dreaded for his wit and sarcasm, and respected for his 
integrity as a statesman. In 1835 Chief-Justice • Marshall breathed 
his last, at the age of fourscore years ; and in the next year ex-Pres- 
ident Madison, worn with the toils of eighty-five years, passed away. 
To these losses of life must be added two great disasters to property. 
On the 16th of December, 1835, a fire broke out in the lower part 
of New York City and laid thirty acres of buildings in ashes. Five 
hundred and twenty-nine houses and property valued at eighteen 
million dollars were consumed. Just one year afterward the Patent 
Office and Post-Office at Washington were destroyed in the same 
manner. But upon the ruins of these valuable buildings, more noble 
and imposing structures were soon erected. 

Jackson's administration was signalized by the addition of two 
new States. In June of 1836 Arkansas was admitted, with an area 
of fifty-two thousand square miles, and a pojiulation of seventy thou- 
sand. In January of the following year Michigan Territory was 
organized as a State and added to the Union. The new common- 
wealth brought a population of a hundred and fifty-seven thousand, 
and an area of fifty-six thousand square miles. The administration 
was already within two months of its close. The President, follow- 
ing the example of Washington, issued a patriotic farewell address. 



436 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The dangers of discord and sectionalism among the States were set 
forth with all the masculine energy of the Jacksonian dialect. The 
people of the United States were again solemnly warned, as they had 
been by the Father of his Country, against the baleful influence of 
demagogues. The horrors of disunion were portrayed in the strong- 
est colors; and people of every rank and section were exhorted to 
maintain and defend the American Union as they would the last 
fortress of human liberty. This was the last of those remarkable 
public papers contributed by Andrew Jackson to the history of his 
country. Already, in the autumn of the previous year, Martin Van 
Buren had been elected President. The opposing candidate was Gen- 
eral Harrison of Ohio, who received the support of the new Whig 
party. As to the vice-presidency, no one secured a majority in the 
electoral college, and the choice devolved on the Senate. By that 
body Colonel Richard M. Johnson of Kentucky was duly elected. 



CHAPTER LV. 

VAN BUREN' S ADMINISTRATION, ISSl-lS^l. 

MARTIN VAN BUREN, eighth President of the United States, 
was born at Kinderhook, New York, on the 5th of December, 
1782. After receivino; a limited education he became a student of 
law, and before reaching liis majority was recognized as an influential 
democratic politician. In his thirtieth year he was elected to the 
Senate of his native State; and six years afterwards, by supplanting 
De Witt Clinton, became the recognized leader of the Democracy in 
New York. In 1821, and again in 1827, he M'as chosen United States 
Senator ; but in the following year he resigned his office to accept the 
governorship of his native State. He also, in 1831, resigned his 
place as secretary of State in the first cabinet of President Jackson, 
and was appointed minister to England. But when, in December of 
the same year, his nomination was submitted to the Senate the influence 
of Vice-President Calhoun assisted by the Whig leaders, Clay and 
Webster, procured the rejection of the appointment. Mr. Van Buren 
returned from his unfulfilled mission ; became the candidate for the 
vice-presidency, and was elected in the fall of 1832. Four years 
later he was called by the voice of the powerful party to wliich he be- 
longed, to succeed General Jackson in the highest office of the nation. 



VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 437 

One of the first duties of the new administration was to finish the 
Seminole War. In the beginning of 1837 the command of the army in 
Florida was transferred from General Scott to General Jessup. In the 
following fall Osceola came to the American camp with a flag of truce ; 
but he was suspected of treachery, seized, and sent a prisoner to Fort 
Moultrie, where he died in 1838. The Seminoles, though disheartened 
by the loss of their chief, continued the war. In December Colonel 
Zachary Taylor, with a force of over a thousand men, marched into the 
Everglades of Florida, determined to fight the savages in their lairs. 
After unparalleled sufferings he overtook them, on Christmas day, near 
Lake Okeechobee. A hard battle was fought, and the Indians were de- 
feated, but not until a hundred and thirty-nine of the whites had fallen. 
For more than a year Taylor continued to hunt the Red men through the 
swam])s. In 1839 the chiefs sent in their submission and signed a treaty; 
but their removal to the West was made v/ith much reluctance and delay. 

In the first year of Van Buren's administration the country was afflicted 
with a monetary panic of the most serious character. The preceding years 
had been a time of great prosperity. The national debt was entirely liqui- 
dated, and a surplus of nearly forty million dollars had accumulated in 
the treasury of the United States. By act of Congress this vast sum had 
been distributed among the several States. Owing to the abundance of 
money, speculations of al 1 sorts grew rife. The credit system pervaded every 
department of business. The banks of the country were suddenly multi- 
plied to nearly seven hundred. Vast issues of irredeemable paper money 
stimulated the speculative sjiirit and increased the opportunities for fraud. 

The bills of these unsound l)anks were receivable at the land-offices ; 
and settlers and speculators made a rush to secure the public lands while 
money was plentiful. Seeing that in receiving such an unsound currency 
in exchange for the national domain the government was likely to be 
defrauded out of millions. President Jackson had issued an order called 
THE Specie Circular, by which the land-agents were directed hence- 
forth to receive nothing but coin in payment for the lands. The effects 
of this circular came upon the nation in the first year of Van Buren's 
administration. The interests of the government had been secured by 
Jackson's vigilance ; but the business of the country was prostrated by 
the shock. The banks suspended specie payment. IVIercantile houses 
failed ; and disaster swept through every avenue of trade. During the 
months of March and April, 1837, the failures in New York and New 
Orleans amounted to about a hundred and fifty million dollars. A com- 
mittee of business men from the former city besought the President to 
rescind the specie circular and to call a special session of Congress. The 



438 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

former request was refused and the latter complied with ; but not until 
the executive was driven by the distresses of the country. 

When Congress convened in the following September, several measures 
of relief were brought forward. A bill authorizing the issue of treasury 
notes, not to exceed ten millions of dollars, was passed as a temporary ex- 
pedient. More important by far was the measure proposed by the Presi- 
dent and brought before Congress under the name of the Independent 
Treasury Bill. By the provisions of this remarkable project the 
public funds of the nation were to be kept on deposit in a treasury to be 
estal)lished for that special purpose. It was argued by Mr. Van Buren 
and his friends that the surplus money of the country would drift into 
the independent treasury and lodge there ; and that by this means the 
speculative mania would be effectually checked; for extensive speculations 
could not be carried on without an abundant currency. It was in the 
nature of the President's plan to separate the business of the United States 
from the general business of the country. 

The independent treasury bill was passed by the Senate, but de- 
feated in the House of Representatives. But in the following regular 
session of Congress the bill was again brought forward and adopted. In 
the mean time, the business of the country had in a measure revived. 
During the year 1838 most of the banks resumed specie payments. 
Commercial affairs assumed their wonted aspect ; but trade was less 
vigorous than before. Enterprises of all kinds languislied, and the people 
were greatly disheartened. Discontent prevailed ; and the administration 
was blamed with everything. 

In the latter part of 1837 there was an insurrection in Canada. A 
portion of the people, dissatisfied with the British government, broke out 
in revolt and attempted to establish their independence. The insurgents 
found much symjiathy and encouragement in the United States, especially 
in New York. From that State a party of seven hundred men, taking 
arms, seized and fortified Navy Island, in the Niagara River. The 
loyalists of Canada attempted to capture the place, and failed. They suc- 
ceeded, however, in firing the Caroline, the supply-ship of the adven- 
turers, cut her moorings, and sent the burning vessel over Niagara Falls. 
These events created considerable excitement, and the peaceful relations 
of the United States and Great Britain were endangered. But the Presi- 
dent issued a proclamation of neutrality, forbidding interference with the 
affairs of Canada; and General Wool was sent to the Niagara frontier 
with a sufficient force to quell the disturbance and punish the disturbers. 
The New York insurgents on Navy Island were obliged to surrender, 
and order was soon restored. 



VAN BUREN'S ADMINISTRATION. 439 

Hardly had the excitement attendant upon the Canadian troubles 
subsided, before the question was raised as to Van Buren's successor 
in the presidency. The canvass began early and in a very bitter 
spirit. The measures of the administration had been of such a nature 
as to call forth the fiercest political controversy. The Whigs, ani- 
mated with the hope of victory, met in national convention on the 4t]i 
of December, 1839, and again nominated General Harrison as thch' 
leader in the coming contest. On the Democratic side Mr. Van Buren 
had no competitor ; but the unanimity of his party could hardly com- 
pensate for his misfortunes and blunders. The canvass was the most 
exciting in the political history of the country. The President was 
blamed with every thing. The financial distress was laid at his door. 
Extravagance, bribery, corruption — every thing bad was charged upon 
him. Men of business advertised to pay six dollars a barrel for flour 
if Harrison should be elected; three dollars a barrel if Van Buren 
should be successful. The AVhig orators tossed about the luckless ad- 
ministration through all the figures and forms of speech ; and the 
President himself was shot at with every sort of dart that partisan wit 
and malice could invent. The enthusiasm in the ranks of the oppo- 
sition rose higher and higher; and the result was the defeat of the 
Democrats in every State except Alabama, Arlcansas, Illinois, Missouri, 
New Hampshire, Virginia, and South Carolina. The electoral votes 
of these States — numbering sixty — were given to Van Buren; and 
the remainder, amounting to two hundred and thirty-four, were cast 
for General Harrison. After controlling the destinies of the govern- 
ment for nearly forty years, the Democratic party was temporarily 
routed. For Vice-President, John Tyler of Virginia was chosen. 

In the last year of Van Buren's administration was completed the 
sixth census of the United States. The tables were, as usual, replete 
with the evidences of growth and progress. The national revenues 
for the year 1840 amounted to nearly twenty millions of dollars. Dur- 
ing the last ten years the center of population had moved Avestward 
along the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude from the South Fork of 
the Potomac to Clarksburg, West Virginia — a distance of fifty-five 
miles. The area of the United States now actually inhabited, amounted 
to eight hundred and seven thousand square miles, being an increase 
in ten years of twenty-seven and six-tenths per cent. The frontier 
line, circumscribing the population, passed through Michigan, Wiscon- 
sin, Iowa, and the western borders of Missouri, Arkansas, and Loui- 
siana — a distance of three thousand three hundred miles. The popu- 
lation had reached the aggregate of eighteen million souls, being an 



440 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

increase since 1830 of more than six millions. It was found from the 
tables that eleven-twelfths of the people lived outside of the larger 
cities and towns, showing the strong preponderance of the agricultural 
over the manufacturing and commercial interest. One of the most 
interesting lessons of the census was found in the fact that the wonderful 
growth of the United States was in extent and area, and not in accu- 
'taulation — in the spread of civilization rather than in intensity. For, 
since 1830, the average population of the country had not increased 
by so much as one person to the square mile ! 

The administration of Van Buren has generally been reckoned 
as unsuccessful and inglorious. But he and his times were unfortu- 
nate rather than bad. Ho was the victim of all the evils which fol- 
lowed hard upon the relaxation of the Jacksonian methods of govern- 
ment, lie had neither the will nor the disposition to rule as his 
predecessor had done; nor were the peo2:)le and their representatives 
any longer in the humor to suffer that sort of government. The pe- 
riod was unheroic: it was the ebb-tide between the belligerent excite- 
ments of 1832 and the war with Mexico. The financial panic added 
opprobrium to the popular estimate of imbecility in the government. 
" The administration of Van Buren," said a bitter satirist, " is like 
a parenthesis: it may be read in a low tone of voice or altogether 
omitted icithout injuring the sense f^' But the satire lacked one essen- 
tial quality — truth. 



CHAPTER LVI. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER, 1841-1845. 

THE new President was a Virginian by birth, and the adopted son 
of Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution. He was a grad- 
uate of Hampden-Sidney College, and afterward a student of medicine. 
Attracted by the military life, he entered the army of St. Clair ; was 
rapidly promoted ; became lieutenant-governor and then governor of 
Indiana Territory, which office he filled with great ability. His mil- 
itary career in the North-west has already been narrated. He was 
inaugurated President on the 4th of March, 1841, and began his 
duties by issuing a call for a special session of Congress to consider 
" sundry important matters connected with the finances of the coun- 
try." An able cabinet was organized, at the head of which was Dan- 



ADBHNISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 441 

iel Webster as secretary of state. Everything promised well for the 
neAV Whig administration ; but before Congress could convene, the 
venerable President, bending under the weight of sixty-eight years, 
fell sick, and died just one month after his inauguration. It was 
the first time that such a calamity had befallen the American peo- 
])le. Profound and universal grief was manifested at the sad event. 
On the 6th of April Mr. Tyler took the oath of office, and became 
President of the United States. 

He was a statesman of considerable distinction ; a native of Vir- 
ginia; a graduate of William and Mary College. At an early age he 
left the profession of law to enter public life ; Avas chosen a member 
of Congress; and in 1825 w^as elected governor of Virginia. From 
that position he was sent to the Senate of the United States; and now 
at the age of fifty-one was called to the presidency. He had been 
put upon the ticket with General Harrison through motives of expe- 
diency ; for although a Whig in political principles, he was knoum to- 
be hostile to the United States Bank. And this hostility was soon to be 
manifested in a remarkable manner. 

The special session of Congress continued from May till Septem- 
ber. One of the first measures proposed and carried was the repeah 
of the independent treasury bill. A general bankrupt law was then- 
brought forward and passed, by which a great number of insolvent 
business men were relieved from the disabilities of debt. The next 
measure — a favorite scheme of the Whigs — was the rechartering of" 
the bank of the United States. The old charter had expired in 1836;-, 
but the bank had continued in operation under the authority of the- 
State of Pennsylvania. Now a bill to recharter w^as brought forward 
and passed. The President interposed his veto. Again the bill was. 
presented, in a modified form, and received the assent of both Houses,, 
only to be rejected by the executive. By this action a final rupture' 
was produced between the President and the party which had elected, 
him. The indignant AVhigs, baffled by a want of a two-thirds major- 
ity in Congress, turned upon him with storms of invective. All the 
members of the cabinet except Mr. Webster resigned ; and he retained 
his place only because of a pending difficulty with Great Britain. 

The difficulty was in the nature of a dispute about the north- 
eastern boundary of the United States. The territorial limit of the 
country in that direction, not having been clearly defined by the treaty 
of 1783, had been one of the points under discussion by the commis-- 
sioners at Ghent in 1814. But like other matters presented for adju- 
dication before that polite and easily satisfied congress, the boundary 



442 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

question liad been postponed rather than settled. It was then agreed, 
however, to refer the establishment of the entire line between the 
United States and Canada to the decision of three commissioners to be 
jointly constituted by the two governments. The first of these bodies 
accomplished its work successfully by awarding to the United States 
the islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy. The third commission 
also performed its duty by establishing the true boundary line from 
the intersection of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude with the River 
St. Lawrence to the western point of Lake Huron. To the second 
commission was assigned the more difficult task of settling the bound- 
ary from the Atlantic to the St. Lawrence; and this work they failed 
to accomplish. For nearly twenty-five years the limit of the United 
States on the northeast remained in controversy ; and at times the dif- 
ficulty became so serious as to endanger the peace of the two nations. 
Finally the whole matter at issue was referred to Lord Ashburton, 
acting on the part of Great Britain, and Mr. Webster, the American 
Secretary of State. After an able discussion of all the points in dis- 
pute, the boundary was definitely established as follows : From the 
mouth of the Biver St. Croix ascending that stream to its western 
fountain; from that fountain due north to the St. John's; thence with 
that river to its source on the watershed between the Atlantic and 
the St. Lawrence; thence in a southwesterly direction along the crest 
of the highlands to the northwestern source of the Connecticut; and 
down that stream to and along the forty-fifth parallel to the St. Law- 
rence. The work of the commissioners extended also to the estab- 
lishment of the boundary from the western point of Lake Huron 
through Lake Superior to the northwestern extremity of the Lake of 
Woods, thence — confirming the treaty of October, 1818, — southward 
to the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, and thence witli that parallel to 
the Rocky Mountains. This important settlement, known as the Web- 
ster- Ashburton Treaty, was completed on the 9th of August, 1842, 
and was ratified by the Senate on the 20th of the same month. 

In the next year the country was vexed with a domestic trouble. 
For nearly two centuries the government of Rhode Island had been 
administered under a charter granted by Charles II. By the terms 
of that ancient instrument the riffht of suffrage was restricted to those 
who held a certain amount of property. There were other clauses re- 
pugnant to the spirit of republicanism; and a proposition was made 
to change the constitution of the State. On that issue the people of 
Rhode Island were nearly unanimous ; but in respect to the manner 
of abrogating the old charter there was a serious division. One fac- 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 



443 



tion, called the " law and order party/' proceeding in accordance with 
the former constitution, chose Samuel W. King as governor. The 
other faction, called the "suffrage party/' acting in an irregular way, 
elected Thomas W. Dorr. In May of 1842 both parties met and or- 
ganized their rival governments. 

The " law and order party " now undertook to suppress the faction 
of Dorr. The latter resisted and made an attempt to capture the 
State arsenal. ' But the militia, under the direction of King's officers, 
drove the assailants away. A month later the adherents of Dorr again 
appeared in arms, but were dispersed by the troops of the United 
States. Dorr fled from Rhode Island; returned soon afterward, was 
caught, tried for treason, convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment for 
life. He was then offered pardon on condition of taking an oath of 
allegiance. This he stubbornly refused to do; and in June of 1845 
obtained his liberty without conditions. 

The year 1842 was noted for the completion of the Bunker 
Hill Monument. No enterprise of a similar character had, in the 
whole history of the country, called forth so much patriotic enthusiasm. 
The foundation of the noble struc- 
ture was laid on the 17th of June, 
1825, the corner-stone being put into 
its place by the venerable La Fay- 
ette. Daniel Webster, then young 
in years and fame, delivered the ora- 
tion of the day, while two hundred 
Revolutionary veterans — forty of 
them survivors of the battle fought 
on that hill-crest just fifty years be- 
fore — gathered with the throng to 
hear him. But the work of erection 
went on slowly. More than a hun- 
dred and fifty thousand dollars were 
expended, and seventeen years 
elapsed before the grand shaft — com- 
memorative of the heroes living and 
dead — was finished. At last the 
work was done, and the mighty column of Quincy granite, thirty-one 
feet square at the base and two hundred and twenty-one feet in height, 
stood out sublimely against the clouds and sky. It was deemed fit- 
ting, however, to postpone the dedication until the next anniversary 
of the battle; and preparations were made accordingly. On the 17th 




BUNKER HILL MOKUMENT. 



444 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of June, 1843, an immense multitude of people — including most of 
the Revolutionary soldiers who had not yet fallen — gathered from all 
parts of the Republic to witness the imposing ceremony. Mr. Web- 
ster, now full of years and honors, was chosen to deliver the address of 
dedication — a duty which he performed in a manner so touching and 
eloquent as to add new luster to his fame as an orator. The celebra- 
tion was concluded with a public dinner given in Faneuil Hall, the 
cradle of American liberty. 

In the latter part of Tyler's administration the State of New 
York was the scene of a serious social disturbance. Until the year 
1840 the descendants of Van Rensselaer, one of the old Dutch pa- 
troons of New Netherland, had held a claim on certain lands in the 
counties of Rensselaer, Columbia and Delaware. In liquidation of 
this claim they had continued to receive from the farmers certain 
trifling rents. At last the farmers grew tired of the payment, and 
rebelled. From 1840 until 1844 the question was frequently dis- 
cussed in the New York legislature ; but no satisfactory settlement 
was reached. In the latter year the anti-rent party became so bold 
as to coat with tar and feathers those of their fellow-tenants who 
made the payments. Officers were sent to apprehend the rioters ; 
and them they killed. Time and again the authorities of the State 
were invoked to quell the disturbers; and the question in dispute has 
never been permanently settled. 

Of a different sort was the difficulty with the Mormons, who now 
began to play a part in the history of the country. Under the leader- 
ship of their prophet, Joseph Smith, they made their first important set- 
tlement in Jackson county, Missouri. Here their numbers increased to 
fully fifteen hundred ; and they began to say that the great West was 
to be their inheritance. Not liking their neighbors or their practices, 
the people of Missouri determined to be rid of them. As soon as op- 
portunity offered, the militia was called out, and the INIormons were 
obliged to leave the State. In' the spring of 1839 they crossed the 
Mississippi into Illinois, and on a high bluff overlooking the river 
laid out a city which they called Nauvoo, meaning the BeaufifuL 
Here they built a splendid temple. Other Mormons from different 
parts of the Union and from Europe came to join the community, 
until the number was swelled to ten thousand. Again popular sus- 
picion was aroused against them. Under the administration of Smith, 
laws were enacted contrary to the statute of Illinois. The ])eople 
charged the Mormons with the commission of certain thefts and mur- 
ders ; and it was believed that the courts in the neighborhood of Nau- 
voo would be powerless to convict the criminals. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF HARRISON AND TYLER. 445 

In the midst of much excitemout Smith and his brother were ar- 
rested, taken to Carthage, and lodged in jail. On the 27th of June, 1844, 
a mob gathered, broke open the jail doors and killed the prisoners. Dur- 
ing the rest of the summer there were many scenes of violence. In 1845 
the charter of Nauvoo was annulled by the legislature of Illinois. Most 
of the Mormons gave up in despair and resolved to exile themselves be- 
yond the limits of civilization. In 1846 they began their march to the 
far West. In September Nauvoo was cannonaded for three days, and the 
remnant of inhabitants driven to join their companions at Council Bluffs. 
Thence they dragged themselves wearily westward; crossed the Rocky 
Mountains; reached the basin of the Great Salt Lake, and founded Utah 
Territory. 

Meanwhile, a great agitation had arisen in the country in regard to 
the republic of Texas. From 1821 to 1836 this vast territory lying be- 
tween Louisiana and Mexico, had been a province of the latter country. 
For a long time it had been the policy of Spain and Mexico to keep 
Texas uninhabited, in order that the vigorous race of Americans might 
not encroach on the Mexican borders. At last, however, a large land- 
grant was made to Moses Austin of Connecticut, on condition that he 
would settle three hundred American families within the limits of his do- 
main. Afterward the grant was confirmed to his son Stephen, with the 
privilege of establishing five hundred additional families of immigrants. 
Thus the foundation of Texas was laid by people of the English race. 

Owing to the oppressive policy adopted by Mexico, the Texans, 
in the year 1835, raised the standard of rebellion. Many adventurers 
and some heroes from the United States flocked to their aid. In the 
first battle, fought at Gonzales, a thousand Mexicans were defeated by 
a Texan force numbering five hundred. On the 6th of March, 1836, 
a Texan fort, called the Alamo, was surrounded by a Mexican army 
of eight thousand, commanded by President. Santa Anna. The feeble 
garrison was overpowered and massacred under circumstances of great 
atrocity. The daring David Crocket, an ex-congressman of Tennessee, 
and a famous hunter, was one of the victims of the butchery. In the 
next month was fought the decisive battle of San Jacinto, which gave 
to Texas her freedom. The independence of the new State was ac- 
knowledged by the United States, Great Britain and France. 

As soon as the people of Texas had thrown off the Mexican yoke 
they asked to be admitted into the Union. At first the proposition 
was declined by President Van Buren, who feared a war with Mex- 
ico. In the last year of Tyler's administration the question of annex- 
ation was again agitated. The population of Texas had increased to 
more than two hundred thousand souls. The territory embraced an 



446 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



area of two hundred and thirty-seven thousand square miles — a do- 
main more than five times as large as the State of Pennsylvania. It 
was like annexing an empire. The proposition to admit Texas into 
the Union was the great question on which the people divided in 

the presidential elec- 
tion of 1844. The 
annexation was fa- 
vored by the Demo- 
crats and opposed by 
the Whigs. The 
parties were equally 
matched in strength; 
and the contest sur- 
passed in excitement 
anything which had 
been known in Amer- 
ican politics. James 
K. Polk of Tennessee 
was put forward as 
the Democratic can- 
didate, while the 
Whigs chose their 
favorite leader, Hen- 
ry Clay. The former 
was elected, and the 
hope of the latter to reach the presidency was forever eclipsed. For 
Vice-President, George M. Dallas of Pennsylvania was chosen. 

The convention by which Mr. Polk was nominated was held at 
Baltimore. On the 29th of May, 1844, the news of the nomination was 
sent to Washington by the Magnetic Telegraph. It was the first 
despatch ever so transmitted ; and the event marks an era in the his- 
tory of civilization. The inventor of the telegraph, which has proved 
so great a blessing to mankind, was Professor Samuel F. B. Morse 
of Massachusetts. The magnetic principle on which the invention 
depends had been known since 1774; but Professor Morse was the first 
to apply that principle for the benefit of men. He began his experi- 
ments in 1832: and five years afterward succeeded in obtaining a 
patent on his invention. Then followed another long delay ; and it 
was not until the last day of the session in 1843 that he procured 
from Congress an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars. With 
that appropriation was constructed between Baltimore and Wasl^- 




PROFESSOR JIORSE. 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 447 

ington the first telegraphic line in the world. Perhaps no other 
invention has exercised a more beneficent influence on the welfare 
and happiness of the human race. 

When Congress convened in December of 1844, the proposition 
to admit Texas into the Union was formally brought forward. Dur- 
ing the winter the question was frequently debated ; and on the 1st 
of INIarch — only three days before Tyler's retirement from the presi- 
dency — the bill of annexation was adopted. The President imme- 
diately gave his assent ; and the Lone Star took its place in the 
constellation of the States. On the day before the inauguration of 
Mr. Polk bills for the admission of Florida and Iowa were also 
signed ; but the latter State — the twenty-ninth member of the Amer- 
ican Union — was not formally admitted until the following year. 



CHAPTER LVII. 

FOLIC S ADMINISTRATION, AND THE MEXICAN WAR, 1S45-1849. 

PRESIDENT POLK was a native of North Carolina. In boyhood 
he removed with his father to Tennessee ; entered the legislature 
of the State ; and was then elected to Congress, where he served as 
member or speaker for fourteen years. In 1839 he was chosen gov- 
ernor of Tennessee, and from that position was called, at the early 
age of forty-nine, to the presidential chair. At the head of the new 
cabinet was placed James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. It was an of- 
fice requiring high abilities; for the threatening question with Mexico 
came at once to a crisis. As soon as the resolution to annex Texas 
was adopted by Congress, Almonte, the Mexican minister at Washing- 
ton, demanded his passports and left the country. 

On the 4th of July, 1845, the Texan legislature ratified the act 
of annexation ; and the union was completed. Knowing the warlike 
determination of Mexico, the authorities of Texas sent an immediate 
and urgent request to the President to despatch an army for their pro- 
tection. Accordingly, General Zachary Taylor was ordered to march 
from Camp Jessup, in Western Louisiana, and occupy Texas. The 
real question at issue between that State and Mexico was concerning 
boundaries. The foundation of the difficulty had been laid as early as 



448 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the Mexican revolution of 1821. By that event Mexico had achieved 
her independence of Spain, and in rearranging her civil administra- 
tion had united Coaliuila and Texas — the two frontier States east of 
the E,io Grande — under one provincial government. Such was the 
condition of aifairs at the time of the Texan rebellion of 1836. Texas, 
being successful in her struggle with Mexico, naturally claimed that 
her own independence carried with it the independence of Coahuila, 
and that, therefore, the territory of the latter province became an in- 
tegral part of the new Texan republic. This theory the joint legis- 
lature of Texas and Coahuila made haste to put into statutory form 
by a resolution of December 19th, 1836. Mexico, however, insisted 
that Texas only, and not Coahuila, had revolted against her authority, 
and that, therefore, the latter province, was still rightfully a part of 
the Mexican dominions. Thus it came to ])ass that Texas — now a 
State in the American Union — claimed the Rio Grande as her west- 
ern limit, while Mexico was de- 
termined to have the Nueces as 
the separating line. The ter- 
ritory between the two rivers 
was in dispute. The govern- 
ment of the United States made 
a proposal to settle the contro- 
versy by negotiation, but the 
authorities of Mexico scornfully 
refused. This refusal was con- 
strued by the Americans as a 
virtual acknowledgment that 
the Mexicans were in the 
wrong, and that the Rio Grande 
might justly be claimed as the 
boundary. Instructions wore 
accordingly sent to General 
Taylor to advance his army as 
near to that river as circum- 
stances would warrant. Under these orders he moved forward to Cor- 
pus Christi, at the mouth of the Nueces, established a camp, and by 
the beginning of November, 1845, had concentrated a force of between 
four and five thousand men. 

In the following January General Taylor was ordered to advance 
to the Rio Grande. It was known that the ISIexican government had 
resolved not to receive the American ambassador sent thither to ne- 




TEXAS AND COAHUILA, 1845. 



POLICS ADMINISTRA TIOK 



449 




SCENE OF TAYLOR'S CAMPAIGN, 

1S4G-47. 



gotiate a settlement. It had also transpired that an army of Mexicans 
was gathering in the northern part of the country for the invasion of 
Texas, or, at any rate, for the occupation of the 
disputed territory. On the 8th of March the 
Anierican army began the advance from Corpus 
Christi to Point Isabel, on the gulf. At that 
place General Taylor establislied a depot of sup- 
plies, and then pressed forward to the Rio 
Grande. Arriving at the river a few miles 
above the mouth, he» took his station opposite 
Matamoras and hastily erected a fortress, after- 
ward named Fort Brown. 

On the 26th of April, General Arista, who 
had arrived at Matamoras on the previous day and assumed com- 
mand of the Mexican forces on the frontier, notified General Tay- 
lor that hostilities had begun. On the same day a company of Amer- 
ican dragoons, commanded by Captain Thornton, was attacked by a 
body of Mexicans, cast of the Rio Grande, and after losing sixteen 
men in killed and wounded, was obliged to surrender. This was the 
first bloodshed of the war. At the same time large bodies of Mexi- 
cans — marauders, infantry, and cavalry — crossed the Rio Grande be- 
low Fort Brown and threatened the American lines of communication. 
General Taylor, alarmed lest the Mexicans should make a circuit and 
capture the stores at Point Isabel, hastened to that place and strength- 
ened the defences. The fort opposite Matamoras was left nnder the 
command of Major Brown with a garrison of three hundred men. The 
withdrawal of the American general with the greater part of his forces 
was witnessed by the Mexicans in Matamoras, who, mistaking the 
movement for a retreat inspired by fear, were in great jubilation. 
The Republican Monitor, a Mexican newspaper of Matamoras, pub- 
lished on the following day a flaming editorial, declaring that the 
cowardly invaders of Mexico had fled like a gang of poltroons to the 
sea-coast and were using every exertion to get out of the country be- 
fore the thunderbolt of Mexican vengeance should smite them. Ar- 
ista himself was confident that the Americans, becoming alarmed at 
their exposed position, had shrunk from the conflict and that it was only- 
necessary for him to bombard Fort Brown in order to end the war. 

As soon as his sujiplies at Point Isabel were deemed secure,. 
General Taylor set ont with a provision-train and an army of more 
than two thousand men to return to Fort Brown. Meanwhile, the 
Mexicans to the number of six thousand had crossed the Rio Grande 

29 



450 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and taken a strong position at Palo Alto, directly in Taylor's route. At 
noon on the 8tli of May the Americans came in sight and 'immediately 
joined battle. After a severe engagement of five hours' duration the 
Mexicans were driven from the field, with the loss of a hundred men. 
The American artillery was served with signal effect; while the fighting 
of the enemy was clumsy and ineffectual. Only four Americans were 
killed and forty wounded; but among the former was the gallant and 
much-Jamented Major Ringgold of the artillery. 

On the following day General Taylor resumed his march in the 
direction of Fort Brown. When within three miles of that place, he 
again came upon the Mexicans, who had rallied in full force to dispute 
his advance. They had selected for their second battle-field a place 
called Resaca de la Palma. Here an old river-bed, dry and overgrown 
with cactus, crossed the road leading to the fort. The enemy's artillery 
was well posted and better served than on the previous day. The Ameri- 
can lines were severely galled until the brave Captain ISIay with his regi- 
ment of dragoons charged through a storm of grape-shot, rode over the 
INIexican batteries, sabred the gunners, and captured La Vega, the com- 
manding general. The Mexicans, abandoning their guns and flinging 
away their accoutrements, fled in a general rout. Before nightfall they 
had put the Rio Grande between themselves and the invincible Americans. 
On reaching Fort Brown, General Taylor found that during his absence 
the j>lace had been constantly bombarded by the guns of ISIatamoras. 
But a brave defence had been made, which cost, with other losses and 
suffering, the life of Major Brown, the commandant. Such was the be- 
ginning of a war in which Mexico experienced a long list of humiliating 
defeats. 

When the news of the battles on the Rio Grande was borne through 
the Union, the war spirit was everywhere aroused. Party dissensions 
were hushed into silence. The President, in a message to Congress, noti- 
fied that body that the lawless soldiery of Mexico had shed the blood of 
American citizens on American soil. On th* 11th of May, 1846, Con- 
gress promptly responded with a declaration that war already existed by 
the act of the Mexican government. The President was authorized to 
accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers, and ten million dollars 
Avere placed at his disposal. War meetings were held in all parts of the 
country, and within a few weeks nearly three hundred thousand men 
rushed forward to enter the ranks. A grand invasion of Mexico was 
planned by General Scott. The American forces were organized in three 
divisions : THE Army of the AVest, under General Kearney, to cross 
the Rocky ]\Iountains and conquer the northern Mexican provinces; 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 451 

THE Army of the Centre, under General Scott as commander-in- 
chief, to march from the gulf coast into the heart of the enemy's country ; 
THE Army of Occupatiox, commanded by General Taylor, to subdue 
and liold the districts on the Rio Grande. 

The work of mustering the American troops was entrusted to Gen- 
eral Wool. By the middle of summer he succeeded in despatching to 
General Taylor a force of nine thousand men. He then established his 
camp at San Antonio, Texas, and from that point prepared the gathering 
recruits for the field. Meanwhile, Taylor had resumed active operations 
on the Rio Grande. Ten days after the battle of Resaca de la Raima he 
crossed from Fort Brown and captured Matamoras. Soon afterward he 
began his march up the right bank of the river and into the interior. 
The Mexicans, grown wary of their antagonist, fell back and took post at 
the fortified town of IMonterey. To capture that place was the next object 
of the campaign ; but the American army Avas feeble in numbers, and 
General Taylor was obliged to tarry near the Rio Grande until the latter 
part of August. By that time reinforcements had arrived, increasing his 
numbers to six thousand six hundred. With this force the march against 
Monterey was begun ; and on the 19th of September the town, defended 
by fully ten thousand troops, under command of Ampudla, was reached 
and invested. 

The siege was pressed with great vigor. On the 21st of the month 
several assaults were made, in which the Americans, led hy General 
Worth, carried the fortified heights in the rear of the town. In that part 
of the defences only the bishop's palace — a strong building of stone — re- 
mained ; and this was taken by storm on the following dav. On the 
morning of the 23d the city was successfully assaulted in front by Gen- 
erals Quitman and Butler. In the face of a tremendous cannonade and 
an incessant tcm})est of musket-balls discharged from the house-tops and 
alleys, the American storm ing-parties charged resistlessly into the town. 
They reached the Grand Plaza, or public square. They hoisted the vic- 
torious flag of the Union. They turned upon the buildings where the 
Mexicans were concealed ; broke open the doors ; cliarged up dark stair- 
ways to the flat roofs of the houses ; and drove the terrified enemy to an 
ignominious surrender. The honors of war were granted to Ampudia, 
who evacuated the city and retired toward the capital. The storming of 
IMonterey was a signal victory, gained against great superiority of mnn- 
bers and advantage of position. 

After the capitulation General Taylor received notice that overtures 
of peace were about to be made by the ]\Iexican government. He there- 
fore agreed to an armistice of eight weeks, during which time neither party 



452 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

should renew hostilities. In reality the Mexicans had no thought of 
peace. They employed the whole interval in warlike preparations. The 
famous general Santa Anna was called home from his exile at Havana 
to take the presidency of the country. In the course of the autumn a 
Mexican army of twenty thousand men was raised and sent into the field. 
In the mean time, the armistice had expired ; and General Taylor, acting 
under orders of the War Department, again moved forward. On the 15th 
of xsovember, the town of Saltillo, seventy miles south-west from Mon- 
terey, was captured by the American advance under General Worth. In 
the following month, Victoria, a city in the province of Tamaulipas, was 
taken by the command of General Patterson. To that place General 
Butler advanced from Monterey on the march against Tampico, on the 
river Panuco. At Victoria, however, he learned that Tampico had 
already capitulated to Captain Conner, commander of an American 
flotilla. Meanwhile, General Wool, advancing with strong reinforce- 
ments from San Antonio, entered Mexico, and took a position within sup- 
porting distance of Monterey. It was at this juncture that General Scott 
arrived and assumed the command of the American forces. 

The Army of the West had not been idle. In June of 1846 
General Kearney set out from Fort Leavenworth, on the INIissouri, for 
the conquest of New Mexico and California. After a long and wearisome 
march he reached Santa Fe, arid on the 18th of August captured and gar- 
risoned the city. The whole of New Mexico submitted Avithout further 
resistance. With a body of four hundred dragoons Kearney then con- 
tinued his march toward the Pacific coast. At the distance of three hun- 
dred miles from Santa Fe he was met by the famous Kit Carson, who 
brought intelligence from the far West that California had already been 
subdued. Kearney accordingly sent back three-fourths of his forces, and 
with a party of only a hundred men made his way to the Pacific. On 
that far-off coast stirring events had happened. 

For four years Colonel John C. Fremont had been exploring the 
country west of the Rocky Mountains. He had hoisted the American 
flag on the highest peak of the great range, and then directed his route by 
Sih Lake to Oregon. Turning southward into California, he received 
.l("^!iatches informing him of the impending war with IMexico. Deter- 
mined to strike a blow for his country, he urged tlie people of California, 
many of whom were Americans, to declare their independence. The 
hardy frontiersmen of the Sacramento valley flocked to his standard; and 
a campaign was at once begun to overthrow the INIcxican authority. In 
several petty engagements the Americans were victorious over greatly 
superior numbers. Meanwhile, Commodore Sloat, commanding an 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 453 

American fleet, had captured tlie town of JNIonterey, on the coast, eighty- 
miles south of San Francisco. A few days afterward Commodore Stock- 
ton took command of the Pacific squadron and made himself master of 
San Diego. Hearing of these events, Fremont raised the flag of the 
United States instead of the flag of California, and joined the naval com- 
manders m a successful movement against Los Angelos, which was taken 
without opposition. Before the end of summer the whole of the vast 
province was subdued. In November General Kearney arrived with his 
company and joined Fremont and Stockton. About a month later the 
Mexicans rose in rebellion, but were defeated on the 8th of January^ 
1847, in the decisive battle of San Gabriel, by which the authority of the 
United States was completely established. A country large enough for 
an empire had been conquered by a handful of resolute men. 

In the mean time. Colonel Doniphan, who had been left by Kear- 
ney in command of New ISIexico, had made one of the most brilliant 
movements of the war. With a body of seven hundred fearless men he 
began a march through the enemy's country from Santa Fe to Saltillo, a 
distance of more than eight hundred miles. Reaching the Hio Grande on 
Christmas day, he fought and gained the battle of Bracito ; then, crossing 
the river, captured El Paso, and in two months prc_ssed his way to Avithin 
twenty miles of Chihuahua. On the banks of Sacramento Creek he met 
the jNIexicans in overwhelming numbers, and on the 28th of February 
completely routed them. He then marched unopposed into Chihuahua — 
a city of more than forty thousand inhabitants — and finally reached the 
division of General Wool in safety. 

As soon as General Scott arrived in INIexico ho ordered a large part 
of the Army of Occupation to join him on the gulf for the conquest of the 
capital. By the withdrawal of these troops from the divisions of Taylor 
and Wool these officers were left in a very exposed and critical condition ; 
for Santa Anna was rapidly advancing against them with an army of 
twenty thousand men. To resist this tremendous array General Taylor 
was able to concentrate at Saltillo a force numbering not more than six 
thousand ; and after putting sufficient garrisons in that town and IMon- 
terey, his effective forces amounted to but four thousand eight hundred. 
With this small but resolute army he marched boldly out to meet the 
INIexican host. A favorable battle-ground was chosen at Buena Vista, 
four miles south of Saltillo. Here Taylor posted his troops and awaited 
the enemy. 

On the 22d of February the INIexicans, twenty thousand strong, 
came pouring through the gorges and over the hills from the direction of 
San Luis Potosi. Santa Anna demanded a surrender, and was met with 



454 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



defiance. On the morning of the 23cl the battle began with an effort to out- 
flank the American position on the right ; but the attempt was thwarted bj 
the troops of Illinois. A heavy column was then thrown against the centre, 
only to be shattered and driven back by Captain Washington's artillery. 
The Mexicans next fell in great force upon the American left flank, where 
the second regiment of Indianians, acting under a mistaken order, gave 
way, putting the army in great peril. But the trooj^s of IMississippi and 
Kentucky were rallied to the breach ; the men of Illinois and Indiana 
came bravely to the support; and again the enemy was hurled back. 
In the crisis of the battle the IMcxicans made a furious and final charge 
upon Captain Bragg's battery ; but the gunners stood at their posts un- 
daunted, and the columns of lancers were scattered with terrible volleys 
of grape-shot. A charge of American cavalry, though made at the sacri- 
fice of many lives, added to the discomfiture of the foe. Against tremen- 
dous odds the field was fairly won. On the night after the battle the 
Mexicans, having lost nearly two thousand men, made a precipitate re- 
treat. The American loss was also severe, amounting, in killed, wounded 
and missing, to seven hundred and forty -six. This was the last of General 
Taylor's battles. He soon afterward returned to the United States, where 
he w-as received with great enthusiasm. 

On the 9th of ]\Iarch, 1847, General Scott began the last campaign 
of the war. With a force of twelve thousand men he landed to the south 

of Vera Cruz, and in three days the 
investment of the city was completed. 
Trenches \vere opened at the distance 
of eight hundred yards; and on the 
morning of the 22d the cannonade 
was begun. On the water side Vera 
Cruz was defended by the celebrated 
castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, erected 
by Spain in the early part of the sev- 
enteenth century, at the cost of four 
million dollars. For four days an 
incessant storm of shot and shell from the fleet of Commodore Conner and 
the land-batteries of Scott was poured upon the doomed castle and town. 
Life and ])roperty were swept into a common ruin. An assault was 
already jilanned, when the humbled authorities of the city jiroposed ca- 
pitulation. On the night of the 27th terms of surrender were signed, and 
two days afterward the American flag floated over Vera Cruz. 

The route from the gulf to the capital was now open. On the 8th 
of April General Twiggs, in command of the American advance, set out 




SCENE OF SCOTT'S CAMPAIGN, 1S47. 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. .455 

on the road to Jalapa. The main division, led by General Scott in per- 
son, followed immediately. For several days there was no serious oppo- 
sition ; but on the 1 2tli of the month Twiggs came upon Santa Anna, 
.who, with an army of fifteen thousand men, had taken possession of the 
heights and rocky pass of Cerro Gordo. The position, though seemingly 
impregnable, must be carried, or further advance was impossible. On the 
morning of the 18th the American army was arranged for an assault which, 
according to all the rules of war, promised only disaster and ruin. But to 
the troops of the United States nothing now seemed too arduous, no deed too 
full of peril. Before noonday every position of the Mexicans had been suc- 
cessfully stormed and themselves driven into a precipitate rout. Nearly 
three thousand prisoners were taken, together with forty-three pieces of 
bronze artillery, five thousand muskets and accoutrements enough to 
supply an army. The American loss amounted to four hundred and 
thirty-one, that of the enemy to fully a thousand. Santa Anna escaped 
with his life, but left behind his private papers and wooden leg. 

On the next day the victorious army entered Jalapa. On the 22d 
the strong castle of Perote, crowning a peak of the Cordilleras, was taken 
without resistance. Here another park of artillery and a vast amount of 
warlike stores fell into the hands of the Americans. Turning southward, 
General Scott next led his army against the ancient and sacred city of 
Puebla. Though inhabited by eighty thousand people, no defence was 
made or attempted. The handful of invaders marched unopposed through 
the gates, and on the loth of ]\Iay took up their quarters in the city. 
The American army was now reduced to five thousand men, and General 
Scott was obliged to pause until reinforcements could be brought forward 
from Vera Cruz. Negotiations were again opened in the hope of peace ; 
but the Mexican authorities, stubborn and foolhardy as at the beginning, 
preferred to fight it out. 

By the 7th of August General Scott had received reinforcements, 
swelling his numbers to nearly eleven thousand. Leaving a small garri- 
son in Puebla, he again began his march upon the capital. The route 
now lay over the summit of the Cordilleras. At the passes of the moun- 
tains resistance had been expected ; but the advance was unopposed, and 
the army swept through to look down on the Valley of Mexico. 
Never before had the American soldiery beheld such a scene. Clear to 
the horizon stretched a most living landscape of green fields, villages and 
lakes — a jiicture too beautiful to be torn with the dread enginery of war. 

The army pressed on to Ayotla, only fifteen miles from the capital. 
Thus far General Scott had fallowed the great national road from Vera 
Cruz to Mexico ; but now, owing to the many fortifications and danger- 



456 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ous passes in front, it was deemed advisable to change the route. From 
Ayotla, therefore, the army wheeled to the south, around Lake Chalco, 
and thence westward to San Augustine. From this place it was but ten 
miles to the capital. The city could be approached only by causeways 
leading across marshes and the beds of bygone lakes. At the ends of 
these causeways Avcre massive gates strongly defended. To the left of 
the line of march were the almost inaccessible positions of Contrcras, San 
Antonio and jMolino del Rey. Directly in front, beyond the marshes and 
closer to the city, were the powerful defences of Churubusco and Chapul- 
tepec, the latter a castle of great strength. These various positions were 
held by Santa Anna with a force of more than thirty thousand INIexicans. 
That General Scott, with an army not one-third as great in numbers, 
could take the city seemed an impossibility. But he was resolved to 
do it. 

On the 19tli of Auo-ustthe divisions of Generals Pillow and Twiffcs 
were ordered to storm the Mexican position at Contreras. About night- 
fall the line of communications between that place and Santa Anna's re- 
serves was cut, and in the darkness of the following midnight an assault- 
ing column, led by General Persifer F. Smith, moved against the enemy's 
camp. The attack was made at sunrise, and in seventeen minutes six 
thousand Mexicans, commanded by General Valencia, were driven in 
utter rout from their fortifications. The American storming-party num- 
bered less than four thousand. This was the first victory of that mem- 
orable 20th of August. A few hours afterward General Worth advanced 
against San Antonio, compelled an evacuation and routed the flying gar- 
rison. This Avas the second victory. Almost at the same time General 
Pillow led a column against one of the heights of Ouu-ubusco where the 
enemy had concentrated in great force. After a terrible assault the posi- 
tion was carried and the Mexicans scattered like chaff. This was the 
third tr'mm])h. The division of General Twiggs added a /owr^A victory 
by storming and holding another height of Churubusco, while the fifth 
and last vras achieved by Generals Shields and Pierce, who defeated 
Santa Anna, coming to reinforce his garrisons. The whole Mexican army 
was hurled back upon the remaining fortification of Chapultepcc. 

On the morning after the battles the Mexican authorities sent out 
a proposition to negotiate. It was only a ruse to gain time, for the terms 
proposed by them were such as conquerors would have dictated to the 
vanquished. General Scott, who did not consider his army vanquished, 
rejected the proposals with scorn, rested his men until the 7th of Septem- 
ber, and then renewed hostilities. On the next morning General AVortli 
was ordered to take ISIolino del Rey and Casa de jMata, the western de- 



POLK 'S ADMINISTRA TION. 



457 



fences of Chapultepec. These positions were held by fourteen thousand 
Mexicans; but the Americans, after losing a fourth of their number in the 
desperate onset, were again victorious. The guns were next brought to 
bear on Chapultepec itself, and on the 13th of the month that frowning 
citadel was carried by storm. Through the San Cosme and Belen gates 
the conquering army swept resistlessly, and at nightfall the soldiers of the 
Union were in the suburbs of JNlexico. 

In the darkness of that night Santa Anna and the officers of the 
government fled from 
the city; but not un- 
til they had turned 
loose two thousand 
convicts to fire upon 
the American army. 
On the f o 1 1 o w i n g 
morning, before day- 
dawn, forth came a 
deputation from the 
city to beg for mercy. 
This time the messen- 
gers were in earnest; 
but General Scott, 
weary of trifling, 
turned them away 
with contcm])t. " For- 
ward!" was the order 
tliat rang along tb.e 
American lines at sun- 
rise. The M^ar-worn 
regiments swept into 
the beautiful streets of 
the famous city, and 

at seven o'clock the flag of the United States floated over the halls of the 
Montezumas. So ended one of the most brilliant campaigns known in 
modern history. 

On leaving his conquered capital Santa Anna, with his usual 
treachery, turned about to attack the American hospitals at Pucl)la. 
Here about eighteen hundred sick men had been left in charge of Colonel 
Childs. For several days a gallant resistance was made by the feeble 
garrison, until General Lane, on his march to the capital, fell upon the 
besieo-ers and scattered them. It was the closing stroke of the war — a 




GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT. 



458 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

contest in which the Americans, few in number and in a far-distant^ 
densely-peopled country, had gained every victory. 

The military power of Mexico was now completely broken. Santa 
Anna was a fugitive. It only remained to determine the conditions of 
peace. In the winter of 1847-48 American ambassadors met the Mexican 
Congress, in session at Guadalupe Hidalgo, and on the 2d of February a 
treaty was concluded between the two nations. The compact was ratified 
by both governments, and on the 4th of the following July President Polk 
made a proclamation of peace. By the terms of settlement the boundary- 
line between Mexico and the United States was fixed as follows : The 
Rio Grande from its mouth to the southern limit of New Mexico ; thence 
westward along the southern and northward along the western boundary 
of that territory to the river Gila ; thence down that river to the Colo- 
rado ; thence westward to the Pacific. The whole of New Mexico and 
Upper California Avas relinquished to the United States. Mexico guar- 
anteed the free navigation of the Gulf of California, and the river Colo- 
rado from its mouth to the confluence of the Gila. In consideration of 
these territorial acquisitions and privileges the United States agreed to 
surrender all places held by military occupation in INIexico, to pay into 
the treasury of that country fifteen million dollars, and to assume all debts 
due from the Mexican government to American citizens, said debts not to 
exceed three million five hundred thousand dollars. Thus at last was the 
territory of the United States spread out in one broad belt from ocean to 
ocean. 

In the mean time the troublesome and alarming question of the 
Oregon Boundary was finally disposed of. For more than a quarter 
of a century the territorial limit of the United States on the northwest 
had been a matter of controversv between the Federal government 
and Great Britain. By the terms of the convention of 1818 the in- 
ternational line had been carried westward from the northwestern ex- 
tremity of the Lake of the Woods along the forty-ninth parallel to 
the crest of the Rocky Mountains ; but from that point to the Pacific 
no agreement could be reached. As early as 1807, and again in 1818 
and 1826, the United States had formally claimed the parallel of fifty- 
four degrees and forty minutes; but this boundary Great Britain refused 
to accept. By a convention, held in August of 1827, it was agreed by 
the representatives of the two powers that the territory lying between 
the forty-ninth parallel — which, according to the English theory, was 
the true international line — and the parallel of fifty-four degrees and 
forty minutes should remain open indefinitely and impartially for the 
joint occupancy of British and American citizens. By this action the 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 459 

difficulty was postponed for sixteen years; but thoughtful statesmen 
of both nations became alarmed that a question of such magnitude 
should remain unsettled, and negotiations were renewed. In 1843 
the minister resident of the United States in London again proposed 
the parallel of fifty-four degrees and forty minutes, but the proposition 
was rejected. In the next year the British ambassador at Washington 
again suggested the forty-ninth degree of latitude as the true bound- 
ary; but to this tlio government of the United States refused to ac- 
cede. Then came the war with ISIexico and with it the prospective 
extension of territory on the southwest. The views of the adminis- 
tration in regard to the northwestern boundary became less stringent; 
and finally, in a convention of the two powers held on the 15th of 
June, 1846, the question was definitely settled by a treaty. Every 
point of the long-standing controversy was decided in favor of Great 
Britain. The forty-ninth parallel was established as the international 
boundary from the summit of the Bocky Mountains to the middle of 
the channel which separates the continent from A^ancouver's Island; 
thence southerly through the middle of said channel and of Fuca's 
Straits to the Pacific. Vancouver's Island itself was awarded to Great 
Britain; and the free navigation of the Columbia Biver was guaran- 
teed to the Hudson Bay Company and other British subjects on the 
same conditions as those imposed on citizens of the United States. 
The treaty was by no means so favorable as might have been expected, 
and by many it was denounced as actually dishonorable to the Fed- 
eral government. It is certain that better terms miglit have been de- 
manded and obtained. ''" 

A few days after the signing of the treaty of peace with Mexico 
an event occurred in California which spread excitement through the 
civilized world. A laborer, employed by Captain Sutter to cut a mill- 
race on the American fork of the Sacramento River, discovered some 
pieces of gold in tlie sand where he was digging. With further search 
other particles were found. The news spread as if borne on the wind. 
From all quarters adventurers came flocking. Other explorations led 
to further revelations of the precious metal. For a while there seemed 
no end to the discoveries. Straggling gold-hunters sometimes picked 
up in a few hours the value of five hundred dollars. The intelligence 
went flying through the States to the Atlantic, and then to the ends 

* Such was the indignation of tlie opponents of this treaty — esitecially of the leaders 
of the Whig party — tliat tlie political battle-cry of '■^Fifty-four Forty or Fight/" became 
almost as popular a motto as "JF/'ee Trade and Sailors' Bii/hts " had been in the War 
of 1812. 



460 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



of the world. Men thousands of miles away were crazed with excite- 
ment. Workshops were shut up, business houses abandoned, fertile 
farms left tenantless, offices deserted. Though the overland routes to 
California were scarcely yet discovered, thousands of our eager adven- 
turers started on the long, long journey. Before the end of 1850 San 
Francisco had grown from a miserable village of huts to a city of 
fifteen thousand inhabitants. By the close of 1852 the territory had 
a population of more than a quarter of a million. The importance 
of the gold mines of California, whose richness is not yet exhausted, 
can hardly be overestimated. 




THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 



In April of 1846, Congress passed an act organizing the Smith- 
sonian Institution at Washington City. Twenty-two years previ- 
ously an eminent English chemist and philanthropist named James 
Smithson * had died at Genoa, bequeathing on certain conditions a 
large sum of money to the United States. In the fall of 1838, by 
the death of Smithson's nephew, the proceeds of the estate, amount- 
ing to five hundred and fifteen thousand dollars, were secured by the 

"•■■ Until after his frradnation at Oxford in 1786, this remarkable man was known by 
the name of James Lewis Jifucie. Afterward, of his own accord, he chose the name of 
his reputed father, Hugh Smithson, duke of Northumberland. 



POLK'S ADMINISTRATION. 461 

agent of the national government and deposited in the mint. It had 
been provided in the will that the bequest should be used for the 
establishment at AVashington of an institution Jor the increase and dij- 
fasion of knowledge among men. To carry out the great design ot the 
testator a plan of organization, prepared by John Quincy Adams, was 
laid before Congress and after some modifications adopted. 

In the act of establishment it was provided that the institution 
contemplated by Mr. Smithson should be named in his honor " The 
Smithsonian Institution " ; that the same should be under the imme- 
diate control of a Board of Regents composed of the President, Vice- 
President, judges of the Supreme Court, and other principal officers 
of the government; that the entire Smithsonian fund, amounting with 
accrued interest to six hundred and fifty-five thousand dollars, should 
be loaned forever to the United States at six per cent.; that out of the 
proceeds, together with congressional appropriations and private gifts, 
buildings should be provided suitable to contain a museum of nat- 
ural history, a cabinet of minerals, a chemical laboratory, a gallery 
of art, and a library. Professor Joseph Henry of Princeton College 
M^as chosen secretary of the institution, and the plan of organization 
was speedily and successfully carried out. The result has been the 
establishment in the United States of one of the most beneficent in- 
stitutions known in the history of mankind. The Smithsonian Con- 
tribiUions to Knoidedge already amount to eighteen volumes quarto; 
and the future is destined to yield still richer results in widening the 
boundaries of human thought and increasing the happiness of men. 

In the first summer of President Polk's administration the coun- 
try was called to mourn the death of General Jackson. The veteran 
warrior and statesman lived to the age of seventy-eight, and died at 
his home, called the Hermitage, in Tennessee. On the 23d of Feb- 
ruary, 1848, ex-President John Quincy Adams died at the city of 
Washington. At the time of his decease he was a member of the 
House of Representatives. He was struck with paralysis in the very 
seat from which he had so many times electrified the nation with his 
eloquence. 

In 1848 Wisconsiu, the last of the five great States formed fi'om 
the North-western Territory, was admitted into the Union. The new 
commonwealth came with a population of two hundred and fifty thou- 
sand and an area of nearly fifty-four thousand square miles. By estab- 
lishing the St. Croix instead of the Mississippi as the western boundary 
of the State, Wisconsin lost a considerable district rightfully belonging 
to her territory. 



462 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Near the close of Polk's administration an important addition 
was made to the President's cabinet by the establishment of the De- 
partment OF THE Interior. To the three original departments of 
the government, as organized during the administration of Washing- 
ton, had already been added the offices of Postmaster-General and 
Secretary of the Navy. The Attorney-General had also come to be 
recognized as a regular member of the cabinet. With the growth 
and development of the nation it was found that the duties belong- 
ing to the departments of state and the treasury had become so man- 
ifold as to require the establishment of a separate office. A certain 
part of these duties were accordingly detached, and the new " Home 
Department" — afterwards called Department of the Interior — was 
constituted by act of Congress. In the beginning of the next admin- 
istration the new secretaryship w^as assigned to General Thomas Ewing 
of Ohio. 

Another presidential election was at hand. Three well-known 
candidates were presented for the suffifages of the people. General 
Lewis Cass of Michigan was nominated by the Democrats, and Gen- 
eral Zachary Taylor by the Whigs. As the candidate of the new 
Free-Soil party, ex-President Martin Van Buren w^as put forward. 
The rise of this new party was traceable to a question concerning the 
territory acquired by the Mexican War. In 1846 David Wilmot of 
Pennsylvania brought before Congress a bill to proliibit slavery in all 
the territory wliich might be secured by treaty with Mexico. The 
bill was defeated ; but the advocates of the measure, w^hich was called 
the WiLiiOT Proviso, formed themselves into a party, and in June 
of 1848 nominated Mr. Van Buren for the presidency. The real 
contest, however, lay between Generals Cass and Taylor. The posi- 
tion of the two leading parties on the question of slavery in the new 
territories was as yet not clearly defined, and the election w^as left to 
turn on the personal popularity of the candidates. The memory of 
his recent victories in Mexico made General Taylor the favorite with 
the people, and he w^as elected by a large majority. As Vice-Presi- 
dent, Millard Fillmore of New York was chosen. So closed the agi- 
tated but not intrlorious administration of President Polk. 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 



463 



CHAPTER LVIII. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE, 1S49-1S5S. 

THE new President was a Virginian by birth, a Kentuckian by breed- 
ing, a soldier by profession. In 1808 he left the farm to accept a 
commission in the army. Dm-ing the war of 1812 he distinguished hig^- 
self in the North-west, especially in defending Fort Harrison against the 
Red men. In the 
Seminole War he bore 
a conspicuous j)art, but 
earned his greatest re- 
nown in INIexico. His 
reputation, t h o u g h 
strictly military, was 
enviable, and his cha- 
racter above reproach. 
His administration be- 
gan with a violent agi- 
tation on the question 
of slavery in the terri- 
tories; California, the 
El Dorado of the West, 
was the origin of the 
dispute. 

In his first mes- 
sage President Taylor 
expressed his sympa- 
thy with the Califor- 
nians, and advised 
them to form a State 
government prepara- 
tory to admission into the Union. The advice was promptly accepted. 
A convention of delegates was held at Monterey in September of 1849. 
A constitution prohibiting slavery was framed, submitted to the people, 
and adopted with but little opposition. Peter H. Burnet was elected 
governor of the Territory ; members of a general assembly were chosen ; 
and on the 20th of December, 1849, the new government was organized 




PRESIDENT TAYLOK. 



464 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

at San Jose. At tlie same time a petition in the usual form was for- 
warded to Congress asking for the admission of California as a State. 

The jiresentation of the petition was the signal for a bitter contro- 
versy. As m the case of the admission of Missouri, the members of Con- 
gress, and to a great extent the people, were sectionally divided. But 
now the j^osition of the parties was reversed; the proposition to admit the 
new State was favored by the representatives of tlie North and opposed 
by tliose of the South. The ground of the opposition was that with the 
extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific the right to in- 
troduce slavery into California was guaranteed by the general government, 
and that therefore the proposed constitution of the State ouglit to be re- 
jected. The reply of the North was that the argument could apply only 
to a part of the new State, that the INIissouri Compromise had respect only 
to the Louisiana purchase, and that the people of California had framed 
their constitution in their own way. Such was the issue; and the debates 
grew more and more violent, until the stability of the Union was seriously 
endangered. 

Other exciting questions added fuel to the controversy. Texas 
claimed New Mexico as a part of her territory, and the claim was resisted 
by the people of Santa Fe, who desired a separate government. The peo- 
ple of the South complained bitterly that fugitive slaves, escaping from 
their masters, were aided and encouraged in the North. The opponents 
of slavery demanded the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of 
Columbia. Along the whole line of controversy there v.as a sjjirit of 
suspicion, recrimination and anger. 

The illustrious Henry Clay appeared as a peacemaker. In the 
spring of 1850 he was appointed chairman of a committee of thirteen, to 
whom all the questions under discussion were referred. On the 9th of 
May he brought forward, as a compromise covering all the points in dis- 
pute, THE Omnibus Bill, of whicli the provisions were as follows: First, 
the admission of California as a free State ; second, the formation of new 
States, not exceeding four in number, out of the territory of Texas, said 
States to permit or exclude slavery as the people should determine; third, 
the organization of territorial governments for New INIexico and Utah, 
without conditions on the question of slavery ; fourth, the establishment 
of the present boundary between Texas and New Mexico, and the pay- 
ment to the former for surrendering the latter the sum of ten million dol- 
lars from the national treasury ; ffth, the enactment of a more rigorous 
law for the recovery of fugitive slaves ; sixth, the abolition of the slave- 
trade in the District of Columbia. 

When the Omnibus Bill was laid before Congress, the debates began 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 



465 



anew, and seemed likely to be interminable. While the discussion was at 
its height and the issue still undecided, President Taylor fell sick, and 
died on the 9th of July, 1850. In accordance with the provisions of the 
constitution, ]Mr. Fillmore at once took the oath of office and entered upon 
the duties of the presidency. A new cabinet was formed, with Daniel 
Webster at the head as secretary of state. Xotwithstanding the death o. 
the chief magistrate, the government moved on without disturbance. 

The compromise proposed by JNIr. Clay and sustained by his elo- 
quence was at length 
approved by Congress. 
On the islh of Sep- 
tember the last clause 
was adopted, and the 
whole received the im- 
mediate sanction of the 
President. The ex- 
citement in the coun- 
try rapidly abated, and 
, the distracting contro- 
versy seemed at an end. 
Such was the last, and 
perhaps the greatest, 
of those pacific mea- 
sures originated and 
carried through Con- 
gress by the genius 
of Henry Clay. He 
shortly afterward bade 
adieu to the Senate, 
and sought at his be- 
loved Ashland a brief 
rest from the arduous 
cares of public life. 

The passage of the Omnibus Bill brought a jwUtkal quiet ; but 
the moral convictions of very few men were altered by its provisions. 
Public opinion remained as before : in the North, a general, indefinite, 
but growing hostility to slavery; in the South, a fixed and resolute 
purpose to defend and extend that institution. To the Presi|lent, 
whose party was in the ascendency in most of the Free States, the 
measure was fatal ; for although his cabinet had advised him to sign 
the bill, the Whigs were at heart opposed to the fugitive slave law, 

30 




HKNKY CliAY. 



466 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and when he gave his assejit they turned coklly from him. In the 
Wing National convention, two years afterwards, although the policy 
of the President was approved and the compromise measures ratified 
by a vote of two hundred and twenty-seven against sixty, not t^venty 
Northern votes could be obtained for his renomination. Thus do 
political parties punish their leaders for hesitating to esj^ouse a prin- 
ciple which the parties themselves are afraid to avow. 

The year 1850 was marked by a lawless attempt on the part of 
some American adventurers to gain possession of Cuba. It was 
thought that the people of that island were anxious to throw oflp the 
Spanish yoke and to annex themselves to the United States. In order 
to encourage such a movement, General Lopez organized an expedi- 
tion in the South, and on the 19th of May, 1850, effected a landing 
at Cardenas, a port of Cuba. But there was no uprising in his favor; 
neither Cubans nor Spanish soldiers joined his standard, and he was 
obliged to seek safety by returning to Florida. Renewing the attempt 
in the following year, he and his band of four hundred and eighty 
men were attacked, defeated and captured by an overwhelming force 
of Spaniards. Lopez and the ringleaders were taken to Havana, 
tried, condemned and executed. 

The first annual message of the President was a document 'of 
great ability. Among the many important measures pressed upon the 
attention of Congress were the following : a system of cheap and uni- 
form postage ; the establishment, in connection with the Department 
of the Interior, of a Bureau of Agriculture; liberal appropriations for 
the improvement of rivers and harbors; the building of a national 
asylum for disabled and destitute seamen ; a permanent tariff' with 
specific duties on imports and discrimination in favor of American 
manufactures ; the opening of communication between the Mississippi 
and the Pacific coast ; a settlement of the land difficulties in Califor- 
nia ; an act for the retirement of supernumerary officers of the army 
and navy; and a board of commissioners to adjust the claims of pri- 
vate citizens against the government of the United States. Only two 
of these important recommendations — the asylum for sailors and the 
settlement of the land claims in California — were carried into effect. 
For the President's party were in a minority in Congress; and the 
majority refused or neglected to approve his measures. 

In 1852 a serious trouble arose with England. By the terms 
of former treaties the coast-fisheries of Newfoundland belonged ex- 
clusively to Great Britain. But outside of a line drawn three miles 
from the shore American fisherman enjoyed equal rights and jjrivi- 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF TAYLOR AND FILLMORE. 467 

leges. Now the dispute arose as to whether the line should be drawn 
from one headland to another so as to give all the bays and inlets to 
England, or whether it should be made to conform to the irregulari- 
ties of the coast. Under the latter construction American fishino-- 
vessels would have equal claims in the bays and harbors; but this 
privilege was denied by Great Britain, and the quarrel rose to such a 
height that both nations sent men-of-war to the contested waters. But 
reason triumphed over passion, and in 1854 the difficulty was happily 
settled by negotiation ; the right to take fish in any of the bays of 
the British possessions was conceded to American fishermen. 

During the summer of 1852 the celebrated Hungarian patriot 
Louis Kossuth made the tour of the United States. Austria and 
Russia had united against his native land and overthrown her liber- 
ties. He came to plead the cause of Hungary before the American 
people, and to obtain such aid as might be privately furnished to his 
oppressed countrymen. Every-where he was received with expres- 
sions of sympathy and good-will. His mission was successful, though 
the long-established policy of the United States .forbade the govern- 
ment to interfere on behalf of the Hungarian patriots. 

About this time the attention of the American people was di- 
rected in a special manner to explorations in the Arctic Ocean. In 
1845 Sir John Franklin, one of the bravest of English seamen, went 
on a voyage of discovery to the extreme North. He believed in the 
possibility of passing through an open polar sea into the Pacific. 
Years 'w'ent bv, and no tidino-s came from the darino- sailor. It was 
only known that he had passed the country of Esquimaux. Other 
expeditions were despatched in search, but returned without success. 
Henry Grinnell, a wealthy merchant of New York, fitted out several 
vessels at his own expense, put them under command of Lieutenant. 
De Haven, and sent them to the North; but in vain. The govern- 
ment came to Mr. Grinnell's aid. In 1853 a new Arctic squadron 
was equipped; the command of which was given to Dr. Elisha Kent 
Kane ; but the expedition, though rich in scientific results, returned 
without the discovery of Franklin. 

During the administrations of Taylor and Fillmore the country 
was called to mourn the loss of many distinguished men. On the 31st 
of March, 1850, Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolina passed 
away. His death was much lamented, especially in his own State, to 
whose interests he had devoted the energies of his life. His earnest- 
•ness and zeal and powers of debate have placed him in the front rank , 
of American orators. At the age of sixty-eight he fell from his place 



468 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



like a scarred oak of the forest never to rise again. Then followed 
the death of the President; and then, on the 28th of June, 1852, 
Henry Clay, having fought his last battle, sank to rest. On the 24th 
of the following October the illustrious Daniel Webster died at his 

home at Marshfield, 



Massachusetts. The 
place of secretary of 
State, made vacant 
by his death, was 
conferred on Edward 
Everett. 

In Eurojje the 
news of Lopez's ri- 
diculous invasion of 
Cuba created great 
excitement. Not- 
withstanding a dis- 
tinct disavowal of 
the Avhole proceeding 
on the part of the 
Federal government. 



notwithstanding the 
immediate dismissal 
of the officer at New 
Orleans wh(5 had al- 
lowed the expedition 
of Lopez to escape 
from that port, — the governments of Great Britain and France aifec- 
ted to believe that the covert aim and purpose of the United States 
was to acquire Cuba by conquest. Acting upon this presumption the 
British and French ministers proposed to the American government 
to enter into a Tripartite Treaty — so called — in which each of the con- 
tracting nations was to disclaim then and forever all intention of pos- 
sessing Cuba. To this proposal Mr. Everett replied in one of the 
most masterly State papers on record. Great Britain and France were 
informed that the annexation of Cuba was regarded by the United 
States as a measure hazardous and impolitic ; that entire good faith 
would be kept with Spain and with all nations; but that the Federal 
government did not recognize in any European power the right to 
meddle with aifairs purely American, and that, in accordance with 
the doctrine set forth by President Monroe, any such interference 




JOHN C. CALHOUN. 



FIERCE' S ADMINISTRATION. 469 

would be resented as an affront to the sovereignty of the United 
States. 

As Filhnore's administration drew to a close the political parties 
again marshaled their forces. Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire 
appeared as the candidate of the Democratic party, and General Win- 
field Scott as the choice of the AVhigs. The question at issue before 
the country was the Compromise Act of 1850. But the parties, in- 
stead of being divided, were for once agreed as to the wisdom of that 
measure. Both the AVhig and Democratic platforms stoutly reaffirmed 
the justice of the Omnibus Bill, by which the dissensions of the coun- 
try had been quieted. A third party arose, however, whose members, 
both Whigs and Democrats, doubted the wisdom of the compromise 
of 1850, and declared that all the Territories of the United States 
ought to be free. John P. Hale of New Hampshire was put forward 
as the candidate of this Free Spil party. Mr. Pierce was elected by a 
large majority, and William R. King of Alabama was chosen Vice- 
President. 



CHAPTER LIX. 

PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION, 1S53-1S57. 

THE new chief magistrate was a native of New Hampshire, a graduate ■ 
of Bowdoin College, a lawyer, a politician, a general in the Mexican 
War, a statesman of considerable abilities. INIr. King, the Vice-Presi- 
dent, had for a long time represented Alabama in the Senate of the United 
States. On account of failing health he was sojourning in the island of 
Cuba at the time of the inaugui-ation, and there he received the oath of 
office. Growing still more feeble, he returned to his own State, where 
he died on the 18th of April, 1853. As secretary of state under the new 
administration William L. JNIarcy of New York was chosen. 

In the summer of 1853 the first corps of engineers was sent out by 
the government to explore the route for A Pacific Railroad. The' 
enterprise was at first regarded as visionary, then believed in as possible, 
and finally undertaken and accomplished. In the same year that marked 
the beginning of the project the disputed boundary between New Mexico ■ 
and Chihuahua was satisfactorily settled. The maps on which the former- 
treaties with Mexico had been based were found to be erroneous. Santa. 



470 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Anna, who had again become president of the Mexican republic, at- 
tempted to take advantage of the error, and sent an army to occupy 
the territory between the true and the false boundary. This action 
was resisted by the authorities of New Mexico and the United States, 
and a second Mexican war seemed imminent. The difficulty was ad- 
justed, however, by the purchase of the doubtful claim of Mexico. 
This transaction, known as the Gadsden Puechase, led to the erec- 
tion of the new Territory of Arizona. 

The first year of Pierce's administration was signalized by the 
opening of intercourse between the United States and the great em- 
pire of Japan. Hitherto the Japanese ports had been closed against 
the vessels of Christian nations. In order to remove this foolish and 
injurious restriction Commodore Perry, a son of Oliver IT. Perry of 
the war of 1812, sailed with his squadron into the Bay of Yeddo. 
When warned to depart, he explained to the Japanese officers the sin- 
cere desire of the United States to enter into a commercial treaty with 
the emperor. After much delay and hesitancy consent was obtained to 
hold an interview with that august personage. Accordingly, on the 
14th of July, the commodore with his officers obtained an audience 
with the dusky monarch of the East, and presented a letter from the 
President of the United States. Still the government of Japan was 
wary of accepting the proposition, and it was not until the spring of 
1854 that a treaty could be concluded. The privileges of commerce 
were thus conceded to American merchant vessels, and two ports of 
entry were designated for their use. 

On the very day of Commodore Perry's introduction to the em- 
peror of Japan the Crystal Palace was opened in the city of New York 
for the second World's Fair. The palace itself was a marvel in ar- 
chitecture, being built exclusively of iron and glass. Thousands of 
specimens of the arts and manufactures of all civilized nations were 
put on exhibition within the spacious building. The enterprise and 
inventive genius of the whole country were quickened into a new 
life by the beautiful and instructive display. International exhibitions 
are among the happiest fruits of an enlightened age. 

During the administration of Pierce the country was frequently 
disturbed by the filibustering expeditions of General AVilliam Walker 
into Central America. This audacious and unscrupulous adventurer 
began his operations in 1853 by escaping with a band of followers 
from the port of San Francisco and making a descent on La Paz in 
Lower California. In the spring of 1854 he marched overland with a 
hundred men and raised the standard of revolt in the state of Sonora; 



PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 471 

but the company was dispersed and himself made prisoner. In ^lay 
of the same year he was tried by the authorities of San Francisco and 
acquitted. But not satisfied with his previous experience, he again 
raised a band of sixty-two followers and proceeded to Central America- 
Being joined by a regiment of natives he fought and gained a battle 
at Rivas, on the 29th of June, 1855. In a second battle at A'irgin 
Bay he was also successful. Fighting continued until the following 
summer when his influence had become so powerful that he was 
elected president of Nicaraugua. Then came a change in his fortunes. 
A great insurrection ensued ; and the other Central American states, 
assisted by the Vanderbilt steam-ship company, whose rights he had 
violated, combined against him and on the 1st of May, 1857, he was 
again made prisoner. But in a short time he was foot-loose at New 
Orleans, where he organized a third company of adventurers — men 
who had evervthino; to rain and nothing; to lose — and on the 25th of 
November succeeded in reaching Punta Arenas, Nicaraugua. 

AVithin less than a month, however, he was again obliged to sur- 
render to Commodore Paulding of the United States navy. For a 
Avhile the great filibuster was a prisoner at New York ; but getting his 
liberty, he continued his scheming, and in June of 1860 a third time 
reached Central America at the head of a considerable force. This 
time the descent was made at Truxillo, Honduras. But the president 
of that state, assisted by a British man-of-war, soon overpowered and 
captured the whole band. On the 3d of September Walker was tried 
by a court-martial at Truxillo, condemned, and shot. The courage 
Avith which he met his fate has half redeemed his forfeited fame and 
left after times in doubt whether he shall be called fanatic or hero.* 

To this period also belongs the history of what is known in 
American diplomacy as the Martix Koszta Affair. Martin Koszta 
was a leader in the Hungarian revolt against Austria, in 1849. After 
the rebellion "was suppressed he fled to Turkey whence he was demanded 
by the Austrian government as a refugee and traitor. The Turkish 
authorities, however, refused to give him up but agreed that he should 
be sent into exile to some foreign land never to return. Koszta chose 
the United States as his asylum, came hither, and took out partial but 
not complete papers of naturalization. In 1854 he returned to Tur- 
key, contrary — as it was alleged — to his former promise. At the city 
of Smyrna he received a passport from the American consul residing 
there, and went ashore. But the Austrian consul at Smyrna, hearing 

■■•-It will be observed that the narrative of Walker's exploits and end, extends nearly 
to the conclusion of Buchanan's administration. 



472 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of Koszta's arrival and having no power to arrest bira on shore, induced 
some bandits to seize him and throw him into the water of the bay- 
where a boat in waiting picked him up and carried him on board an 
.Vustrian frigate. The American officials immediately demanded his 
release, which was refused. Thereupon Captain Duncan Ingraham, 
commanding the American sloop of war St. Louis, loaded his guns, 
pointed them at the Austrian vessel, and was about to make hot work, 
when it was agreed by all parties that Koszta should be put in charge 
of the French government until his nationality should be decided. In 
this condition of affairs the question was given over for discussion to 
Baron Hiilseman — the Austrian minister at Washington — and William 
L. Marcy, the American secretary of state. The correspondence was 
one of the ablest on record and extended, before its termination, to 
almost every question affecting naturalization and citizenship, and in- 
deed to many other important topics of international law. Mr. Marcy 
was completely triumphant in his argument and Koszta was remanded 
to the United States. Of so much importance is the life of one man, 
when it involves the great question of human rights. 

In the years 1853-54, the peaceable relations of the United 
States and Spain were again endangered by Cuban difficulties. Presi- 
dent Pierce believed that owing to the financial embarrassment of the 
Spanish government, Cuba might now be purchased at a reasonable 
price and annexed to the United States. The delicate business of ne- 
gotiating was intrusted at first to Mr. Soule, the American minister 
at Madrid. But afterwards James Buchanan and John Y. Mason were 
added to the mission. A convention of the ambassadors of the vari- 
ous governments concerned was held at Ostend, and an important in- 
strument was there drawn up — chiefly by Mr. Buchanan — known as 
THE OsTEXD MANIFESTO. The docunicnt was chiefly devoted to an 
elaborate statement of the arguments in favor of the purchase and an- 
nexation of Cuba by the United States, as a measure of sound wisdom 
to both the Spanish and American governments. But nothing of prac- 
tical importance resulted from the embassy or the manifesto. 

And now the great domain lying west of Minnesota, Iowa and 
Missouri was to be organized into territorial governments. Already 
into these vast regions the tide of immigration was pouring, and it be- 
came necessary to provide for the future. In January of 1854, Sen- 
ator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois brought before the Senate of the 
United States a proposition to organize the territories of Kansas and 
Nebraska. In the bill reported for this purpose a clause was inserted 
providing that the people of the two Territories, in forming their con- 



PIERCE'S ADMINISTRATION. 473 

stitutions, should decide for themselves whether the new States should be 
free or slavehokling. This was a virtual repeal of the Missouri Com- 
promise, for both the new territories lay north of the parallel of 
thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes. Thus by a single stroke the 
old settlement of the slavery question was to be undone. From Jan- 
uary until May, Mr. Douglas's report, known as the Kansas-Ne- 
braska Bill, was debated in Congress. All the bitter sectional 
antagonisms of the past jvere aroused in fall force. The bill was 
violently opposed by a majority of the representatives from the East 
and North ; but the minority, uniting with the congressmen of the 
South, enabled Douglas to carry his measure through Congress, and 
in May of 1854 the bill received the sanction of the President, 

Kansas itself now became a battle-field for the contending par- 
ties. Whether the new State should admit slavery now depended upon 
the vote of the people. Wherefore both factions made a rush for the 
territory in order to secure a majority. Kansas was soon filled with 
an agitated mass of people, thousands of whom had been sent thither 
to vote. An election held in November of 1854 resulted in the choice 
of a pro-slavery delegate to Congress, and in the general territorial 
election of the following year thg same party was triumphant. The 
State Legislature thus chosen assembled at Lecompton, organized the 
government and framed a constitution permitting slavery. The Free 
'Soil party, declaring the general election to have been illegal on ac- 
count of fraudulent voting, assembled in convention at Topeka, framed 
a constitution excluding slavery, and organized a rival government. 
Civil war broke out between the factions. From the autumn of 1855 
until the following summer the Territory was the scene of constant 
turmoil and violence. On the 3d of September the President ap- 
pointed John W. Geary of Pennsylvania military governor of Kansas, 
with full powers to restore order and punish lawlessness. On his ar- 
rival the hostile parties were quieted and peace restored. But the 
agitation in the Territory had already extended to all parts of the 
Union, and became the issue on which the people divided in the presi- 
dential election of 1856. 

The parties made ready for the contest. James Buchanan of 
Pennsylvania was nominated as the Democratic candidate. By plant- 
ing himself on a platform of principles in which the doctrines of the 
Kansas-Nebraska Bill were distinctly reaffirmed, he was able to secure 
a heavy vote both North and South. For many Northern Democrats, 
though opposed to slavery, held firmly to the opinion that the j^eople 
of every territory ought to have the right to decide the question for 



474 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

themselves. As the candidate of the Free Soil or People's party, 
John C. Fremont of California was brought forward. The exclusion 
of slavery from all the Territories of the United States by congres- 
sional action was the distinctive principle of the Free Soil platform. 
Meanwhile, an American or Know-Nothing party had arisen in the 
country, the leaders of which, anxious to ignore the sliivery question 
and to restrict foreign influences in the nation, nominated Millard Fill- 
more for the presidency. But the slavery question could not be put 
aside; on that issue the people were really divided. A large majority 
decided in flivor of Mr. Buchanan for the presidency, while the choice 
for the vice-presidency fell on John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. 



CHAPTER LX. 

BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION, 1S57-1SG1. 

JAMES BUCHANAN w^as a native of Pennsylvania, born on the 
13th of April, 1791, educated for the profession of law. In 1831 
he was appointed minister to Russia, w^is afterward elected to the 
Senate of the United States, and from that position was called to the 
office of secretary of state under President Polk. In 1853 he received 
the appointment of minister to Great Britain, and resided at London 
until his nomination for the presidency. As secretary of state in the 
hew cabinet. General Lewis Cass of Michigan w'as chosen. 

A few days after the inauguration of the new chief magistrate, 
the Supreme Court of the United States delivered the celebrated opin- 
ion known in American history as THE Dred Scott Decisiox. Dred 
Scott, a negro, had been held as a slave by Dr. Emerson of Missouri, 
a surgeon in the L^nited States army. On the removal of Emerson to 
Rock Ishmd, Illinois, and afterwards, in 1836, to Fort Snelling, Min- 
nesota, Scott was taken along ; and at the latter place he and a negro 
woman, who had been bought by the surgeon, Avere married. Two 
children were born of the marriage, and then the whole flimily were 
taken back to St. Louis and sold. Dred thereupon brought suit for 
his freedom. The cause was heard in the circuit and supreme courts 
of Missouri, and, in May of 1854, was appealed to the Supreme Court 
of the United States. After a delay of nearly three years a decision 
was finally reached in March of 1857. Chief- Justice Taney, speaking 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 475 

for the court, decided that negroes, whether free or slave, were not cit- 
izens of the United States, and that they could not become such by any 
process knoiim to the Constitution; that iindqr the laws of the United 
States a negro could neither sue nor be sued, and that therefore the 
court had no jurisdiction of Dred Scott's cause ; that a slave was to 
be regarded in the light of a personal chattel, and that he might be 
removed. from place to place by his owner as any other piece of prop- 
erty ; that the Constitution gave to every slave-holder the right of re- 
moving to or through any State or Territory with his slaves, and of 
returning at his will with them to a State where slavery was recog- 
nized by law; and that therefore the Missouri Compromise of 1820, 
as well as the compromise measures of 1850, was unconstitutional and 
void. In these opinions six of the associate justices of the supreme 
bench — Wayne, Nelson, Grier, Daniel, Campbell, and Catron — con- 
curred ; while two associates — Judges McLean and Curtis — dissented. 
The decision of the majority, which was accepted as the opinion of 
the court, gave great satisfaction to the ultra slave-holding sentiments 
of the South, but excited in the North thousands of indignant com- 
ments and much bitter opposition. 

In the first year of Buchanan's administration there was a Mor- 
mon rebellion in Utah. The difficulty arose from an attempt to ex- 
tend the judicial system of the United States over the Territory. Thus 
far Brigham Young, the Mormon governor, had had his own way of 
administering justice. The community of Mormons was organized on 
a plan very different from that existing in other Territories, and many 
usages had grown up in Utah which were repugnant to the laws of 
the country. When, therefore, a Federal judge was sent to preside 
in the Territory, he was resisted, insulted and driven violently from 
the seat of justice. The other officials of the Federal government 
were also expelled, and the Territory became the scene of a reign 
of terror. The Mormons, however, attempted a justification of their 
conduct on the ground that the character of the United States offi- 
cers had been so low and vicious as to command no respect. But 
the excuse was deemed insufficient, and Brigham Young Avas super- 
seded in the governorship by Alfred Cumming, superintendent of 
Indian affiiirs on the Upper Missouri. Judge Delana Eckels of In- 
diana was appointed chief-justice of the Territory; and an army of 
two thousand five liundred men was organized and despatched to 
Utah to put down lawlessness by force. 

But Young and the Mormon elders were in no humor to give 
up their authority without a struggle. The approaching American 



476 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

army was denounced as a horde of barbarians, and preparations were 
made for resistance. In September of 1857 the national forces reached 
the Territory; and on the 6th of October a company of Mormon ran- 
gers made good the threats of Young by attacking and destroying 
most of the supply trains of the army. AVinter came on, and the 
Federal forces, under command of Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, 
were obliged to find quarters on Black's Fork, near Fort Bridges. 
Meanwhile, however, the President had despatched Thomas L. Kane 
of Pennsylvania with conciliatory letters to the Mormons. Going by 
way of California, he reached Utah in the spring of 1858, and in a 
short time succeeded in bringing about a good understanding between 
Governor Cumming and the insurgents. In the latter part of May, 
Governor Powell of Kentucky and Major McCulloch of Texas ar- 
rived at the quarters of the army, bearing from the President a proc- 
lamation of pardon to all who would submit to the national authority. 
The passions of the INIormons had by this time somewhat subsided 
and they accepted the overture. In the fall of 1858 the army pro- 
ceeded to Salt Lake City, but was soon afterwards quartered at Camp 
Floyd, forty miles distant. The Federal forces remained at this place 
until order was entirely restored, and in May of 1860 were withdrawn 
from the Territory. 

Early in 1858 an American vessel, while innocently exploring 
the Paraguay River, in South America, was fired on by a jealous gar- 
rison. When reparation for the insult was demanded, none was given, 
and the government of the United States was obliged to send out a 
fleet to obtain satisfaction. A commissioner was sent with the squad- 
ron who was empowered to offer liberal terms of settlement for the 
injury. The authorities of Paraguay quailed before the American 
flag, and suitable apologies were made for the wrong which had been 
committed. 

The 5th of August, 1858, was a memorable day in the history 
of the world. On that day was completed the laying of the first 
TELEGRAPHIC CABLE across the Atlantic Ocean. The successful ac- 
complishment of this great work was due in a large measure to the 
energy and genius of Cyrus W. Field, a wealthy merchant of New 
York. The cable, one thousand six hundred and forty miles in 
length, was stretched from Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, to Valentia 
Bay, Ireland. Telegraphic communication was thus established be- 
tween the Old World and the New, and the fraternal greetings of 
peaceful nations were for the first time transmitted through the 
depths of the sea. 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 



47' 



In 1858 Minnesota was added to the Union. The area of the new 
State was a little more than eighty-one thousand square miles, and its 
population at the date of admission a hundred and fifty thousand souls. 
In the next year Ore- 
gon, the thirty-third 
^tate, was admitted, 
with a population of 
forty-eight thousand, 
and an area of eighty 
thousand square miles. 
On the 4th of the pre- 
ceding March General 
Sam Houston of Texas 
bade adieu to the Sen- 
ate of the United 
States and retired to 
private life. His ca- 
reer had been marked 
by the strangest vicis- 
situdes. He was a 
Virginian by birth, 
but his youth was 
hardened among the 
mountains of Tennes- 
see. He gained a mil- 
itary fame in the Sem- 
inole War, then rose 

to political distinction, and was elected governor of his adopted State. 
Overshadowed with a domestic calamity, he suddenly resigned his office, 
left his home, and exiled himself among the Cherokees, by whom he was 
made a chief. Afterward he went to Texas, joined the j)atriots, and be- 
came a leading spirit in the struggle for independence. It was he who 
commanded in the decisive battle of San Jacinto; he who became first 
governor of Texas, and also her first representative in the Senate of the 
United States. Through all the misfortunes, dangers and trials of his 
life his character stood like adamant. 

In the fall of 1859 the people of the United States were called 
to mourn the death of Washington Irving, the Prince of Amer- 
ican Letters. For full fifty years the powers of his sublime genins 
had been unremittingly devoted to the great Avork of creating for his 
native land a literature that should adorn and glorify his own and 




GENEKAL SAM HOUSTON. 



478 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



after ages. On both sides of the Atlantic, in every civilized country, 
his name had become familiar as a household word. He it was, first 
of all, who wrung from the reluctant and proscriptive reviews of 

England and Scot- 
land an acknowledo;- 
ment of the power 
and originality of 
Amercan genius. The 
literature of the New 
World was no longer 
a scoff and a by-word 
when Murray, the 
bookseller of London, 
was obliged to pay 
for the manuscript of 
" Bracebridge Hall " 
— which he had not 
yet seen — the sum of 
a thousand guineas. 
Except Sir \Yalter 
Scott and Lord Byron 
no other author of 
Irving's times re- 
ceived such a munifi- 
cent reward for his labor — no other was so much praised and loved. 
Whether as humorist or writer of prose fiction, historian or biogra- 
pher, his name ranks among the noblest and brightest of the world. 
When the petty revolutions of society and the bloody conflicts of the 
battle field are forgotten, the monument which the affections of his 
countrymen have reared to the memory of the illustrious Irving shall 
stand unshaken and untarnished, transmitting to all after times the 
record of his virtues and achievements. 

From the beginning the new administration had stormy times. 
The slavery question continued to vex the nation. The Dred Scott 
Decision, to which the President had looked as a measure calculated 
to allay the excitement, had only added fuel to the flame. In some 
of the Free States the opposition rose so high that Personal Lib- 
erty Bills Avere passed, the object of which was to defeat the exe- 
cution of the Fugitive Slave law. In the fall of 1859 the excitement 
Avas still further increased by the mad attempt of John Brown of 
Kansas to excite a general insurrection among the slaves. With a 




WASHINGTON IRVING. 



BUCHANAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 479 

party of twenty-one men as daring as himself, he made a sudden de- 
scent on the United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, captured the 
place, and held his ground for nearly two days. The national troops 
and the militia of A^irginia were called out in order to suppress the 
revolt. Thirteen of Brown's men were killed, two made their escape, 
and the rest were captured. The leader and his six companions were 
given over to the authorities of Virginia, tried, condemned and 
hanged. In Kansas the old controversy still continued, but the Free 
Soil party gained ground so rapidly as to make it certain that slavery 
would be interdicted from the State. All these facts and events 
tended to widen the breach between the people of the ISforth and the 
South. Such was the alarming condition of affairs when the time 
arrived for holding the nineteenth presidential election. 

The canvass was one of intense excitement. Four candidates 
were presented. The choice of the People's party — now called Re- 
publican — was Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. The platform of prin- 
ciples adopted by this party again declared opposition to the extension 
of slavery to be the vital issue. In the month of April the Democratic 
convention assembled at Charleston. The delegates were divided on 
the question of slavery, and after much debating the party was dis- • 
rupted. The Southern delegates, unable to obtain a distinct expres- 
sion of their views in the platform of principles, and seeing that the 
Northern Aving was determined to nominate j\Ir. Douglas — the great 
defender of popular sovereignty — withdrew from the convention. The 
rest continued in session, balloted for a while for a candidate, and on 
the 3d of May adjourned to Baltimore, where the delegates, reassem- 
bling on the IStli of June, chose Douglas as their standard-bearer in 
the approaching canvass. The seceding delegates adjourned first to 
Richmond, and afterwards to Baltimore, where they met on the 28th 
of June and nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The 
American party- — now known as Constitutional Unionists — chose 
John Bell of Tennessee as their candidate. The contest resulted in 
the election of Mr. Lincoln. He received the electoral votes of all 
the Northern States except those of New Jersey, which were divided 
between himself and his two opponents. The support of the South- 
ern States was for the most part given to Breckinridge. The States 
of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee cast their ballots, thirty-nine 
in number, for Mr. Bell. Mr. Douglas received a large popular but 
small electoral vote, his supporters being scattered through all the 
States without the concentration necessary to carry any. Thus after 
controlling the destinies of the Republic for sixty years, with only 



480 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the temporary overthrow of 1840, the Democratic party was broken 
into fragments and driven from the field. 

The result of the election had been anticipated. The leaders of the 
South had oj)enly declared that the choice of Lincoln would be regarded 
as a just cause for the dissolution of the Union. TIijC Republicans of the 
populous North crowded to the polls, and their favorite was chosen. As 
to the government, it was under the control of the Douglas Democracy ; 
but a majority of the cabinet and a large number of senatoi's and repre- 
sentatives in Congress Avere supporters of Mr. Breckinridge and the advo- 
cates of disunion as a justifiable measure. It was now evident that with 
the incoming of the new administration all the departments of the govern- 
ment would pass under the control of the Republican party. The times 
were full of passion, animosity and rashness. It was seen that disunion 
was now possible, and that the possibility would shortly be removed. The 
attitude of the President favored the measure. He was not himself a 
disunionist. He denied the right of a State to secede ; but at the same 
time he declared himself not armed with the constitutional power neces- 
sary to prevent secession by force. The interval, therefore, between the 
presidential election in November of 1860 and the inauguration of the 
following spring was seized by the leaders of the South as the opportune 
moment for dissolving the Union. 

The actual work of secession began in South Carolina. On the 
17th of December, 1860, a convention assembled at Charleston, and after 
three days of deliberation passed a resolution that the union hitherto 
existing between South Carolina and the other States, under the name of 
the United States of America, was dissolved. It was a step of fearful 
importance. The action was contagious. The sentiment of disunion 
spread with great rapidity. The cotton-growing States were almost 
unanimous in support of the measure. By the 1st of February, 1861, 
six other States — Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and 
Texas — had passed ordinances of secession and withdrawn from the 
Union. Nearly all of the senators and representatives of those States, 
following the action of their constituents, resigned their seats in Congress 
and gave themselves to the disunion cause. 

In the secession conventions there was but little opposition to the 
movement. In some instances a considerable minority vote was cast. A 
few of the speakers boldly denounced disunion as bad in principle and 
ruinous in its results. The course of Alexander H. Stephens, afterward 
Vice-President of the Confederate States, was peculiar. In the con- 
vention of Georgia he undertook the task of preventing the secession of 
his State. He delivered a long and powerful oration in which he de- 



B UCHANAN'S AD MINIS TEA TIOK 



481 



fended the theory of secession, advocated the doctrine of State sove- 
reignty, declared his intention of abiding by the decision of the conven- 
tion, but at the same 
time spoke against se- 
cession, on the ground 
that the measure was 
impolitic, unwise, dis- 
astrous. Not a few 
prominent men at the 
South held similar 
views; but the oppo- 
site opinion prevailed, 
and secession was ac- 
complished. 

On the 4th of 
February, 18G1, dele- 
gates from six of the 
seceded States assem- 
bled at INIontgomery, 
Alabama, and formed 
a new government, 
under the name of 
The Confederate 
States of America. 
On the 8th of the 
month the government 

was organized by the election of Jefferson Davis of ]Mississi}>pi as provis- 
ional President, and Alexander H. Stephens as Vice-President. On the 
same day of the meeting of the Confederate Congress, at JNIontgomery, a 
peace conference assembled at Washington. Delegates from twenty-one 
States were present; certain amendments to the Constitution were pro- 
posed and laid before Congress for adoption, but that body gave little heed 
to the measures suggested, and the conference adjourned without practical 
results. 

The country seemed on the verge of ruin. The national govern- 
ment M'as for the time being paralyzed. The army was stationed in de- 
tachments on remote frontiers. The fleet was scattered in distant seas. 
The President was distracted with hesitancy and the adverse counsels of 
his friends. With the exception of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 
Charleston Harbor, Fort Pickens near Pensacola, and Fortress Monroe in 
the Chesapeake, all the important posts in the seceded States had been 




ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS. 



482 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

seized by tlie Confederate autliorities, even before the organization of their 
government. All this while the local Avarfare in Kansas had continued ; 
but the Free State party had at last gained tlie ascendency, and the early 
admission of the new commonwealth, with two additional Republican 
senators, was foreseen. Early in January the President made a feeble 
attempt to reinforce and provision the garrison of Fort Sumter. The 
steamer Star of the Westyvas sent with men and supplies, but in approach- 
ing the harbor of Charleston was fired on by a Confederate battery and 
compelled to return. Thus in gloom and grief, and the upheavals of 
revolution, the administration of Buchanan drew to a close. Such was 
the dreadful condition of affairs that it was deemed prudent for the new 
President to approach the caj^ital without recognition. For the first time 
in the history of the nation the chief magistrate of the republic slipped 
into Washington city by night. 



CHAPTER LXI. 

LIXCOLN'S ADMINISTEATION, AND THE CIVIL WAR, 1SG1-1SG5. 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN, sixteenth President of the United States, 
was a native of Kentucky, born in the county of Larue, on the 
12th of February, 1809. His ancestors had emigrated thither from 
Rockingham County, Virginia : both father and mother were Virgin- 
ians by birth. The childhood of the future President was passed in 
litter obscurity. In 1816 his father removed to Spencer County, In- 
diana — just then admitted into the LTnion — and built a cabin in the 
woods near the present village of Gentryville. Here was the scene 
of Lincoln's boyhood — a constant struggle with poverty, hardship, and 
toil. At the age of sixteen we find him managing a ferry across the 
Ohio, at the mouth of Anderson Creek — a service for which he was 
paid six. dollarH per month. In his youth he received in the aggregate 
about one year of schooling, which was all he ever had in the way of 
education. In the year of his majority he removed with his father's 
family to the north fork of the Sangamon, ten miles west of Decatur, 
Illinois. Here another log-house was built and a small farm cleared 



LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRA TION. 



483 



and fenced; and here Abraham Lincohi began for himself the hard 
battle of life. 

The uncleared forest, tlie unbroken soil, 

The iron hark that turns the lumberer's axe, 
The rapid that o'erbears the boatman's toil, 

The prairie, hiding the mazed wanderer's tracks, 

The ambushed Indian, and the prowling bear; — 
Such were the needs that helped liis youtli to train — 

Kough culture ! — but such trees large fruit may bear. 
If but their stocks be of right girth and grain ! 



After serving as a flatboatman on the Mississippi, Lincoln re- 
turned to New Salem, twenty miles from Springfield, and became 
a clerk in a country 
store. Then, as cap- 
tain of a company of 
volunteers, he served 
in the Black Hawk 
war. From 1833 to 
1836 he was engaged 
in merchandising, but 
a dissol ute p a r t n e r 
brought him to bank- 
ruptcy. Turning his 
attention to the prac- 
tice ©f the law, for 
w h i c h p r o f e s s i o n 
he had always had a 
liking, he gradually 
gained the attention 
of his fellow-men and 
soon rose to distinc- 
tion. His peculiar 
power — manifested at 
all periods of his life — 
of seizing the most difficult thought and presenting it in such quaint 
and homely phrase as to make the truth appreciable by all men, made 
him a natural leader of the people. As candidate for the office >f 
United States senator from Illinois he first revealed to the nation in 
his great debates with Senator Douglas, the full scope and origi' ality 
of his genius. Now, at the age of fifty-two, he found laid upon him 




ABRAHAM LINCOLN.. 



484 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

such a burden of care and responsibility as had not been borne by 
any ruler of modern times. On the occasion of his inauguration he 
delivered a long and thoughtful address, declaring his fixed purpose 
to uphold the Constitution, enforce the laws, and preserve the integ- 
rity of the Union. 

The new cabinet was organized with William H. Seward of Xew 
York as secretary of state. Salmon P. Chase of Ohio was chosen sec- 
retary of the treasury, and Simon Cameron secretary of war ; but he, 
in the following January, was succeeded in office by Edwin ]M. Stan- 
ton. The secretaryship of the navy was conferred on Gideon Welles. 
In his inaugural address and first official papers the President indi- 
cated the policy of the new administration by declaring his purpose 
to repossess the forts, arsenals and public property which had been 
seized by the Confederate authorities. It was with this purpose that 
the first military preparations w^cre made. In the mean time, on the 
12th of March, an eftbrt was made by commissioners of the seceded 
States to obtain from the national government a recognition of their 
independence; but the negotiations Avcre unsuccessful. Then followed 
a second attempt on the part of the government to reinforce the gar- 
rison of Fort Sumter; and with that came the beginning of actual 
hostilities. 

The defences of Charleston Harbor were held by ISIajor Robert 
Anderson. His entire force amounted to seventy-nine men! Owing 
to the weakness of his garrison, he deemed it prudent to evacuate 
Fort Moultrie and retire to Sumter. Meanwhile, Confederate volun- 
teers had flocked to the city, and powerful batteries had been built 
about the harbor. AVhen it became known that the Federal gov- 
ernment would reinforce the forts, the authorities of the Confederate 
States determined to anticipate the movement by compelling Ander- 
son to surrender. Accordingly, on the 11th of April, General P. T. 
Beauregard, commandant of Charleston, sent a flag to Fort Sumter, 
demanding an evacuation. Major Anderson replied that he should 
hold the fortress and defend his flag. On the following morning, 
at half-past four o'clock, the first gun was fired from a Confederate 
battery. A terrific bombardment of thirty-four hours' duration fol- 
lowed; the fort was reduced to ruins, set on fire, and obliged to ca- 
pitulate. The honors of war were granted to Anderson and^ his men, 
\.ho had made a brave and obstinate resistance. Although the can- 
no-:ade had been long continued and severe, no lives were lost either 
in t. e fort or on the shore. Thus the defences of Charleston Harbor 
were ^ecured by the Confederates. 



LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION 485 

The news of this startling event wont through the country like a V 
■ flame of fire. There had been some expectation of violence, but the 
actual shock came like a clap of thunder. The people of the towns 
poured into the streets and the country folk flocked to the villages 
to gather the tidings and to comment on the coming conflict. Gray- 
haired men talked gravely of the deed that was done, and i)rophesied 
of its consequences. Public opinion in both the North and the South 
was rapidly consolidated. Three days after the fall of Sumter Presi- 
dent Lincoln issued a call for seventy-five thousand volunteers to serve 
three months in the overthrow of the secession movement. Two days 
later Virginia seceded from the Union. On May 6th Arkansas followed 
the example, and then North Carolina on the 20th of the same month. 
In Tennessee — especially in East Tennessee — there was a powerful op- 
position to disunion, and it was not until the 8th of June that a secession 
ordinance could be passed. In Missouri, as will presently be seen, the 
movement resulted in civil war, while in Kentucky the authorities issued 
a proclamation of neutrality. The people of Maryland were divided 
into hostile parties, the disunion sentiment being largely prevalent. 

On the 19th of April, when the first regiments of Massachusetts 
volunteers were passing through Baltimore on their way to Washington, 
they were fired upon by the citizens, and three men killed. This was the 
first bloodshed of the war. On the day before this event a body of Con- 
federate soldiers advanced against the armory of the United States at 
Haq^er's Ferry. The officer in conunand hastily destroyed a portion of 
the vast magazine collected there, and then escaped into Pennsylvania. 
On the 20th of the month another company of Virginians assailed the 
great navy yard at Norfolk. The officers commanding fired the build- 
ings and ships, spiked the cannon and Avithdrew their forces. Most of 
the guns and many of the vessels were afterward recovered by the Con- 
federates, the property thus captured amounting to fully ten millions of 
dollars. So rapidly was Virginia filled with volunteers and troops from 
the South that, for a while, Washington city was in danger of being 
taken. But the capital was soon secured from immediate danger; and 
on the 3d of May the President issued another call for soldiers. This 
time the number was set at eighty -three thousand, and the term of service 
at three years or during the war. Lieutenant-General Winfield Scott 
was made commander-in-chief. As many war ships as could be provided 
M'ere sent to blockade the Southern ports. On every side were heard the- 
notes of preparation. In the seceded States there was boundless and in- 
cessant activity. Already the Southern Congress had adjourned from 
Montgomery, to meet on the 20th of July at Richmotid, which was. 



486 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

chosen as the capital of the Confederacy, To that place had already- 
come Mr. Davis and the officers of his cabinet, for the purpose of direct- 
ing the aifairs of the government and the army. So stood the antag- 
onistic powers in the beginning of June, 1861. It was now evident to 
all men (how slow they had been to believe it !) that a great war, perhaps 
the greatest in modern times, Avas impending over the nation. It is 
appropriate to look briefly into the Causes of the approaching conflict. 



CHAPTER LXII, 

CA USES. 



THE first and most general cause of the civil war in the United States 
was the different construction put upon the national Constitution by the 
people of the North and the South. A difierence of opinion had always 
existed as to how that instrument was to be understood. The question 
at issue was as to the relation between the States and the general govern- 
ment. One party held that under the Constitution the Union of the 
States is indissoluble ; that the sovereignty of the nation is lodged in the 
central government; that the States are subordinate; that the acts of 
Congress, until they are repealed or pronounced unconstitutional by the 
supreme court, are binding on the States ; that the highest allegiance of 
the citizen is due to the general government, and not to his own State ; 
and that all attempts at nullification and disunion are in their nature dis- 
loyal and treasonable. The other party held that the national Constitu- 
tion is a compact between sovereign States ; that for certain reasons the 
Union may be dissolved ; that the sovereignty of the nation is lodged in 
the individual States, and not in the central government ; that Congress 
can exercise no other than delegated powers; that a State feeling ag- 
grieved may annul an act of Congress ; that the higliest allegiance of the 
citizen is due to his own State, and afterward to the general government; 
and tliat acts of nullification and disunion are justifiable, revolutionary 
and honorable. 

Here was an issue in its consequences the most fearful that ever 
disturbed a nation. It struck right into the vitals of the government. 



LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 487 

It threatened with each renewal of the agitation to undo the whole civil 
structure of the United States. For a long time the parties who disputed 
about the meaning of the Constitution were scattered in various sections. 
In the earlier history of the country the doctrine of State sovereignty was 
most advocated in New England. With the rise of the tariff question 
the position of parties changed. Since the tariff — a congressional mea- 
sure — favored the Eastern States at the expense of the South, it came to 
pass naturally that the people of New England passed over to the advo- 
cacy of national sovereignty, while the people of the South took up the 
doctrine of State rights. Thus it happened that as early as 1831 the right 
of nullifying an act of Congress was openly advocated in South Carolina, 
and thus also it happened that the belief in State sovereignty became more 
prevalent in the South than in the North. These facts tended powerfully 
to produce sectional parties and to bring them into conflict. 

A second general cause of the civil war was the different system of 
labor in the North and in the South. In the former section the laborers 
were freemen, citizens, voters; in the latter, bondmen, property, slaves. 
In the South the theory was that the capital of a country should own the 
labor ; in the North that both labor and capital are free. In the begin- 
ning all the colonies had been slaveholding. In the Eastern and Middle 
States the system of slave-labor was gradually abolished, being unprofit- 
able. In the five great States formed out of the North-western Territory 
slavery was excluded by the original compact under which that Territory 
was organized. Thus there came to be a dividing line drawn through 
the Union east and west. It was evident, therefore, that whenever the 
question of slavery was agitated a sectional division would arise between 
the parties, and that disunion and war would be threatened. The danger 
arising from this source was increased and the discord between the sections 
aggravated by several subordinate causes. 

The first of these was the invention of the Cotton Gin. In 
1793, Eli Whitney, a young collegian of Massachusetts, went to Georgia, 
and resided with the family of Mrs. Greene, widow of General Greene, 
of the Revolution. While there his attention was directed to the tedious 
and difficult process of picking cotton by hand — that is, separating the 
seed from the fibre. So slow was the process that the production of up- 
land cotton was nearly profitless. The industry of the cotton-growing 
States was paralyzed by the tediousness of preparing the product for the 
market. Mr. Whitney undertook to remove tlie difficulty, and succeeded 
in inventing a gin which astonished the beholder by the rapidity and 
excellence of its M-ork. From being profitless, cotton became the most 
profitable of all the staples. The industry of the South was revolution- 



488 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ized. Before the civil war it was estimated that "Whitney's gin had 
added a thousand millions of dollars to the revenues of the Southern 
States. The American crop had grown to be seven-eighths of all the 
cotton produced in the world. Just in proportion to the increased profit- 
ableness of cotton slave-labor became important, slaves valuable and the 
system of slavery a fixed and deep-rooted institution. 

From this time onward there was constant danger that the slavery 
question would so embitter the politics and legislation of the country as 
to bring about disunion. The danger of such a result was fully mani- 
fested in THE Missouri Agitation of 1820-21. Threats of dissolving 
the Union were freely made in both the North and the South — in the 
North, because of the proposed enlargement of the domain of slavery ; in 
the South, because of the proposed rejection of Missouri as a slave-holding 
State. When the Missouri Compromise was enacted, it was the hope of 
Mr. Clay and his fellow-statesmen to save the Union by removing for ever 
the slavery cj^ucstion from the politics of the country. In that they suc- 
ceeded for a while. 

Next came the Nullificatiox Acts of South Carolina. And 
these, too, turned upon the institution of slavery and the profitableness of 
cotton. The Southern States had become cotton-producing ; the Eastern 
States had given themselves to manufacturing. The tariff measures 
favored manufactures at the expense of producers. Mr. Calhoun and his 
friends proposed to remedy the evil complained of by annulling tlie laws 
of Congress. His measures failed ; but another compromise was found 
necessary in order to allay the animosities which had been awakened. 

The Annexation of Texas, with the consequent enlargement of 
the domain of slavery, led to a renewal of the agitation. Those who 
opposed the Mexican War did so, not so much because of the injustice of 
the conflict as because of the fact that thereby slavery would be extended. 
Then, at the close of the war, came another enormous acquisition of 
territory. AVhether the same should be made into free or slave-holding 
States was the question next agitated. This controversy led to the passage 
of the Omnibus Bill, by whidi again for a brief period the excitem^ent 
was allayed. 

In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska bill was passed. Thereby the 
Missouri Compromise was repealed and the whole question opened anew. 
Meanwhile, the character and the civilization of the Northern and the 
Southern people had become quite different. In population and wealth 
the North had far outgrown the South. In the struggle for territorial 
dominion the North had gained a considerable advantage. In 1860 the 
division of the Dejuocratic party made certain the election of Mr. Lincoln 



1857 



61 



65 



Frederick William IV. 

Napoieon III. 
Victoria. 



60. Treaty 



58. Mutiny of the East Indian Army 



of Peace between China and England. 
61. William I. 

62. French intervention in Mex 

62. Death of Prince Albert, the 

63. War with Mexico. 

64. Maxi 



ico. 
Consort. 

milian elected 



65. Fenian trou 



58. Minnesota admitted into the 

James Buchanan, President. 

59. Oregon admitted 
59. The John Brown 
at Harper's Ferry. 
57 The Mormon rebellion. 



60. South 



John C. Breckinridge, Vice-Preside 
57. The Dred Scott decision rendered 
by the Supreme Court. 



57. Financial Panic in the country. 



58. Expedition sent against 
Paraguay. 



60. The Ja 
Com 
in th 
Stat 



Union. 64. U. S. 

61. Kansas admitted into the Union. 

Presi 

61. Mason and Slidell captured, 
into the Union. 63. The President is 

insurrection 64. Nevada 

61. The "Star of the West" fired on in 
63. West Virginia ad 
63. Great riot in New 

Abraham Lincoln, President 

President calls for 500,000 men. The 
Carolina secedes from the Union. 
61. Mississippi secedes. President 

61. Alabama secedes. 
61. Florida secedes. 
61. Georgia secedes. 
61. Louisiana secedes. 64. Sherm 

61. Texas secedes. J^ 

61. Peace Conference at Washington. 
61. Confederate Congress assembles at 
nt. 62. The President calls lor 300, 

61. Virginia secedes. 
61. Tennessee secedes. 
61. North Carolina secedes. 
61. Arkansas secedes. 
61. The President calls for 75,000 volunte 
Hannibal Hamlin, Vice-President. 
Fall of Ft. „n rn rti ■ 7 

64. Id-:^ M 



61. 



;6i. 

61. 



Hich Mountain. 



Bull Ru,n. 



63. 



K^ Lookout 3Iou 



^Ball's Bluff. "•'•H^ 3Iissionary 
62.^^ Mill Springs. 64.pl| Fo 
62 r^ J^ort Donel- 64. p^ ^n 



I Fort Donel- 64. 
64. 



62. p^ Pea Ridge. ^^- ^ Res 
62. Bj The Monitor and Merri 
62. p^ Shiloh. 64. pi Jj 

62. p\ The Seven Days' Battles. 

Richmond, 64. I3\ tv* 

Ky. ^^^"^ 

A^t.;„,„^ 64.||\i^r 

62 



62 



Antietam. 



panese 
mission 
e United 
es. 



62.p|^^"''/''^^*- 



' boro 
63. 



64. ^Ala 
Chancellors- 



ville. 
63. fe|| Gettysburg. 

63. H\ Vicksburg. 



Grant, Lieuten 
President calls 

dent calls for 20i 

sues the Emanci 
admitted into tl 
Charleston Harl 

mitted into tlie I 
York City. 

President calls 

orders a draft fo 
66. Tl 



an begins the gn 

braliam L 

(A 
Montgomery. 
000 troops. 
CK r^ Capturi 
*'"^- M and 11 



66. Te 



obile Bay. 

ntain. 
Ridge. 65. 

rt Pillow 



Til 



Wilderness. 
Andrew John 

aca. the a 

mac. 

nesaw. 
lanta. 

nchester. 
shville. 

anklin. 

\ Petersburg. 

bama and Kearsi 

65 Fll ^^^^ "f 
• p-^ mond. 

65. Surrender o1 

65. Surrender oi 

65. S Fort Fi. 



69 



73 



1876 



67. War between Pr 

67. Hanover absorb 

68. Forma 

German 



peror of Mexico. 
7. French army with 
68. The Ab 

in Ireland. 

68. Passage 



ussia and Austria, 
ed by Prussia, 
tion of a North 
Confederation. 



71. 



72. 
Besrinnins 



King 

: of the 



Gravelotte. 



LJ| Sedan. 



71. Downfall of Nap 

drawn from Mexico. 72. The sie 

yssinian War begins. 72. Treaty 

70. Disestablishment of the Iri 

71. Bill forbidding the 

of the Reform Bill. 72. Popula 



William proclaimed Emperor. 
Franco- Prussian War. 



oleon III. 
ge of Paris. 

of peace, 
sh Church. 

sale of commissions passed, 
tion of the United Kingdom, 31,465,480. 



Oeneral. 
100,000 men. 
I men. 

on Proclamation, 
uion. 



67. The Fourteenth A 
W0,000 troops. 

0,000 men. 

tlantic Cable laid. 

67. The purchase of 

Q7. Nebraska admitt 

a arch. 

30111 re-elected Pre 

sinated by J. Wilkes 

Columbia, Charleston 
ington. 



3see re-admitted into 



ssassination Conspira 



, Vice-President, and 
sination of Lincoln. 



Ulysses S. Grant, President. 
69. The Johnsou-Clai'endon Treaty rejec 



69. The Pacific Railway completed, 
mendment adopted. 

71. Great fire in Chi 
71. Meeting of the 
to adjust the 
Alaska, 
ed into the Union. 

70. The Fifteenth Amendment 

sident. 

Booth, April 14, 1865.) 

Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President. 

72. Great 



the Union. 



tors hung. 



President after 



72. The Ja 
the 



72. The Tr 

72. The Al 

of the 



ted by the Senate. 

Ulysses S. Grant 

re-elected President. 

cago. 

Joint High Commission 
Alabama Claims. 

adopted. 



fire in Boston. 

Henry Wilson, Vice-President. 

panese Embassy in 
United States. 



eaty of Washington, 
abama Claims decided in favor 
United States. 



68. Impeac hment of President 
John son by the House of 
Rep resentatives. 



h- 67. Amnesty Proc 
by the Pres 
:e. 
hnston . 



lamation 
ident. 



\im_zmBji 




LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 489 

by the votes of the Northern States. The ])eoplo of tlie South were 
exasperated at the choice of a chief-magistrate uhom they regarded as 
indifferent to their welfare and hostile to their interests. 

The third general cause of the civil war wasjAe want of intercourse 
between the people of the A^orth and the South. The great railroads and 
thoroughfares ran east and west. Emigration flowed from the East to the 
West. Between the North and the South there was little travel or inter- 
change of opinion. From want of acquaintance the people, Avithout in- 
tending it, became estranged, jealous, suspicious. They misjudged each 
other's motives. They misrcjiresented each other's beliefs and purposes. 
They suspected each other of dishonesty and ill-will. Before the out- 
break of the war the people of the two sections looked upon each other 
almost in the light of different nationalities. 

A fourth cause was found in tJie jmbllcatlon of sectional boohs. Dur- 
ing the twenty years preceding the war many works were published, both 
in the North and the South, whose popularity depended wholly on the 
animosity existing between the two sections. Such books were generally 
filled with ridicule and falsehood. The manners and customs, language 
and beliefs, of one section were held up to the contempt and scorn of the 
people of the other section. The minds of all classes, especially of the 
young, were thus prejudiced and poisoned. In the North the belief was 
fostered that the South was given up to inhumanity, ignorance and bar- 
barism, while in the South the opinion prevailed that the Northern people 
were a selfish race of mean, cold-blooded Yankees. 

11. The evil influence of demagogues may be cited as the fifth general 
cause of the war. It is the misfortune of republican governments that 
they many times fall under the leadership of bad men. In the United 
States the demagogue has enjoyed special opportunities for mischief, and 
the people have suffered in proportion. From 1850 to 1860 American 
statesmanshijD and patriotism were at a low ebb. Many ambitious and 
scheming men had come to the front, taken control of the political parties 
and proclaimed themselves the leaders of public opinion. Their purposes 
were wholly selfish. The welfare and peace of the country were put aside 
as of no value. In order to gain power and keep it many unprincipled 
men in the South were anxious to destroy the Union, while the dema- 
gogues of the North were willing to abnse the Union in order to accom- 
plish their own bad purposes. Such, in brief, were the causes which led 
to the civil war, one of the most terrible conflicts of modern times. 



490 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER LXIII. 



FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR. 




ON the 24th of May the Union army crossed the Potomac from Wash- 
ington city to Alexandria. At this time Fortress Monroe, at the 
mouth of James River, was held by twelve thousand men, under command 
of General B. F. Butler. At Bethel Church, in the immediate vicin- 

ity,was stationed a detachment of Con- 
federates commanded by General Ma- 
gruder. On the 10th of June a body 
of Union troops was sent to dislodge 
them, but was repulsed with consider- 
able loss. Meanwhile the conquest of 
West Virginia had been undertaken 
by General George B. M'Clellan. 

In the last days of May General T. 
A. Morris moved forward from Parkers- 
bursr to Grafton with a force of Ohio and 
Indiana troops, and on the 3d of June 
came upon the Confederates stationed at 
Philippi. After a brief engagement the 
Federals were successful ; the Confede- 
rates retreated toward the mountains. General McClellan now arrived, 
took command in person, and on the 11th of July gained a victory at Rich 
Mountain. General Garnctt, the Confederate commander, fell back with 
his forces to Carrick's Ford, on Cheat River, made a stand, was again de- 
feated and himself killed in the battle. On the 10th of August General 
Floyd, commanding a detachment of Confederates at Carnifex Ferry, on 
Gauley River, was attacked by General Rosecrans and obliged to retreat. 
On the 14th of September a division of Confederates under General Rob- 
ert E. Lee was beaten in an engagement at Cheat Mountain — an action 
which completed the restoration of Federal authority in West Virginia. 
In the mean time, other movements of vast importance had taken place. 

In the beginning of June General Robert Patterson marched from 
Chambersburg with the intention of recapturing Harper's Ferry. On 
the 11th of the month a division of the army commanded by Colonel 



SCKNE OF OPEKATIONS IN "WEST 
VIKGINIA, 18G1. 



FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR. 



491 



Lewis Wallace made a sudden and successful onset upon a detachment 
of Confederates stationed at Romney. Patterson then crossed the Poto- 
mac with the main body, entered the Shenandoah Valley, and pressed 
back the Confederate forces to Winchester. Thus far there had been 
only petty engagements, skirmishes and marching. The time had now 
come when the first great battle of the war was to be fought. 

After the Union successes in West Virginia the main body of the 
Confederates, under command of General Beauregard, was concentrated 
at Manassas Junction, on the Orange Railroad, twenty-seven miles west 
of Alexandria. Another large force, commanded by General Joseph E. 
Johnston, was within supporting distance in the Shenandoah Valley. The 
Union army at Alexandria was commanded by General Irwin INIcDowell, 
while General Patterson \vas stationed in front of Johnston to watch his 
movements and prevent his forming 
a junction with Beauregard. On the 
16th of July the national army moved 
forward. Two days afterward an 
unimportant engagement took place 
between Centreville and Bull Run. 
The Unionists then pressed on, and on 
the morning of the 21st came upon 




VICINITY OF MANASSAS JUNCriON, 1861. 



the Confederate army, strongly posted 
between Bull Run and Manassas 
Junction. A general battle ensued, 
continuing with great severity until 
noonday. At that hour the advan- 
tage was with McDowell, and it 
seemed not unlikely that the Confed- 
erates would suffer a complete defeat. 

But in the crisis of the battle General Johnston arrived v>ath nearly six 
thousand fresh troops from the Shenandoah Valley. The tide of victory 
turned immediately, and in a short time INlcDowell's whole army was 
hurled back in utter rout and confusion. A ruinous j^anic spread through 
the defeated host. Soldiers and citizens, regulars and volunteers, horsemen 
and footmen, rolled back in a disorganized mass info the defences of 
Washington. The Union loss in killed, wounded and prisoners amounted 
to two thousand nine hundred and fifty-two ; that of the Confederates to 
two thousand and fifty. 

Great was the humiliation of the North, and greater the rejoicing of 
the South. For a while the Federal government was more concerned about 
its own safety than about the conquest of Richmond. In that city, on the 



492 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



clay before the battle, tlie new Confederate government was organized. In 
the Southern Congress and cabinet were many men of distinguished abil- 
ities. Jefferson Davis, the President, was a far-sighted man, of Avideoxpe- 
rience in the affairs of state, and considerable reputation as a soldier. He 
had led the troops of Mississippi in the Mexican War, had served in both 
houses of the national Congress, and as a member of President Pierce's 
cabinet. His talents, decision of character and ardent advocacy of State 

rights had made him a 
natural leader of the 
South. 

The next milita- 
ry movements Avere 
made in JNIissouri. 
That commonwealth, 
though slaveholding, 
still retained its place 
in the Union. A con- 
vention, called by 
Governor Jackson in 
accordance with an act 
of the legislature, had 
in the previous INIarch 
refused to pass. an or- 
dinance of secession. 
The disunionists, how- 
ever, were numerous 
and powerful; the 
governor favored their 
cause, and the State 
became a battle-field 
for the contending 
parties. Both Federal and Confederate camps were organized, and hos- 
tilities began in several places. By capturing the United States arsenal 
at Liberty, in Clay county, the Confederates obtained a considerable sup- 
ply of arms and ammunition. By the formation of Camp Jackson, near 
St. Louis, the arsenal in that city was also endangered ; but by the vigi- 
lance of Captain Nathaniel Lyon the arms and stores were sent up the 
river to Alton, and thence to Springfield. Camp Jackson was soon after- 
ward broken up by the exertions of the same officer. 

The lead-mines in the south-west part of the State became an object 
of great importance to the Confederates, who, in order to secure them, 




/// 



JEFFERSON DAVIS. 



FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR. 



493 



hurried up large bodies of troops from Arkansas and Texas. On the 17th 
of June Lyon encountered Governor Jackson with a Confederate force at 
J3ooneville, and gained a decided advantage. On the 5th of July the 
Unionists, led by Colonel Franz Sigel, were again successful in a severe 
engagement with the governor at Carthage. On the 10th of August the 
hardest battle thus far fought in the West occurred at Wilson's Creek, a 
short distance south of Springfield. General Lyon made a daring but 
rash attack on a much superior force of Confederates under command of 
Generals McCulIough and Price. The Federals at first gained the field 
against heavy odds, but General Lyon was killed, and his men retreated 
under direction of Sigel. 

General Price now 
pressed northward across the 
State to Lexington, on the 
Missouri Piver: This place 
was defended by a force of 
Federals two thousand six 
hundred strong, commanded 
by Colonel Mulligan. A 
stubborn defence was made 
bv the garrison, but JNIulliran 
was soon obliged to capitulate. 
Price then turned southward, 
and on the 16th of October 
Lexington was retaken by 
the Federals. General John 
C. Fremont, M'ho had been scene of operations in the south-west, isei. 
appointed to the command of 

the Union forces in Missouri, followed the Confederates as far as Spring- 
field, and was on the eve of making an attack, when he was superseded 
by General Hunter. The latter, after retreating to St, Louis, was in turn 
superseded by General Halleek on the 18th of November. It was now 
Price's turn to fall back toward Arkansas. The only remaining move- 
ment of importance was at Belmont, on the Mississippi. 

The Confederate general Polk, acting under orders of his govern- 
ment, had, notwithstanding that State's neutrality, entered Kentucky with 
an army, and had captured the town of Columbus. Batteries planted here 
commanded the Mississippi. The Confederates gathered in force at Bel- 
mont, on the opposite bank. In order to dislodge them Colonel Ulys- 
ses S. Grant, with a brigade of three thousand Illinois troops, was sent by 
way of Cairo into Missouri. On the 7th of November he made a vigor- 




494 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ous and successful attack on the Confederate camp ; but General Polk 
sent reinforcements across the river, the guns of Columbus were brought 
to bear on the Union position, and Grant was obliged to retreat. 

The rout at Bull Run had the effect to quicken the energies of the 
North, and troops were rapidly hurried to Washington. The aged Gen- 
eral Scott, unable to bear the burden resting upon him, retired from active 
duty, and General McClellan was called from West A^irginia to take com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac. By the middle of October his forces 
had increased to a hundred and fifty thousand men. On the 21st of that 
month a brigade, numbering nearly two thousand, was thrown across the 
Potomac at Ball's BlufP. Without proper support or means of retreat, 
the Federals were attacked by a strong force of Confederates under Gen- 
eral Evans, driven to the river, their leader. Colonel Baker, killed, and 
the whole force routed with terrible loss. Fully eight hundred of Baker's 
men were killed, wounded or taken prisoners. 

During the sunmier of 1861 the Federal government sent to sea 
several important naval expeditions. One of these, commanded by Com- 
modore Stringham and General Butler, proceeded to the North Carolina 
coast, and on the 29th of August captured the forts at Hattcras Inlet. 
On the 7th of November a second armament, under command of Com- 
modore Dupont and General Thomas W. Sherman, entered the harbor of 
Port Royal, and captured Forts W^alker and Beauregard. Hilton Head, 
a point most advantageous for military operations against Charleston and 
Savannah, thus fell into the power of the Federals. Around the whole 
coast the blockade became so rigorous that commerce and comnmnication 
between the Confederate States and foreign nations were almost wholly 
cut off. In this juncture of affairs a difficulty arose which brought the 
United States and Great Britain to the very verge of war. 

The Confederate government had appointed James M. INIason and 
John Slidcll, formerly senators of the United States, to go abroad as am- 
bassadors from the Confederate States to France and England. The envoys 
went on board a l)lockade runner, and escaping from Charleston Harbor, 
reached Havana in safety. At that port they took passage on the British 
mail steamer Trent, and sailed for Europe. On the 8th of November 
the vessel was overtaken by the United States frigate Sa7i Jacinto, com- 
manded by Captain Wilkes. The Trent was hailed and boarded; the 
two ambassadors and their secretaries were seized, transferred to the San 
Jacinto, carried to Boston, and imprisoned. The Trent proceeded on her 
way to England ; the story of the insult to the British flag was told, and 
the whole kingdom burst out in a blaze of wrath. 

At first the people of the United States loudly applauded Captain 



CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 



495 



Wilkes, and the government was disposed to defend his action. Had 
such a course been taken, war would have been inevitable. The country 
was saved from the 
peril by the adroit and 
far-reaching diploma- 
cy of William H. Sew- 
ard, the secretary of 
state. When Great 
Britain demanded rep- 
aration for the insult 
and the immediate lib- 
eration of the prison- 
ers, he replied in a 
mild, cautious and very 
able paper. It was con- 
ceded that the seizure 
of Mason and Slidell 
Avas not justifiable ac- 
cording to the law of 
nations. A suitable 
apology was made for 
the wrong done, the 
Confederate ambassa- 
dors were liberated, 
put on board a vessel 
and sent to their des- 
tination. This action of the secretary was both just and politic. The 
peril of war went by, and Great Britain was committed to a policy in 
regard to the rights of neutral flags which she had hitherto denied and 
which the United States had always contended for. So ended the first 
year of the civil war. 




■WILLIAM H. SEWARD. 



CHAPTER LXIV. 

CA3TPAIGNS OF '62. 



THE Federal forces now numbered about four hundred and fifty thou- 
sand men. Of these nearly two hundred thousand, under command 
of General McClellan, were encamped in the vicinity of Washington. 
Another army, commanded by General Buell, was stationed at Louisville, 



496 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Kentucky, and it was in this department that the first military move- 
ments of the year were made. On the 9th of January Colonel Humphrey 
JNIarshall, commanding a force of Confederates on Big Sandy River, in 
Eastern Kentucky, M'as attacked and defeated by a body of Unionists, led 
by Colonel Garfield. Ten days later another and more important battle 
was fought at INIill Spring, in the same section of the State. The Con- 
federates Mere commanded by Generals Crittenden and Zollicoffer, and 
the Federals by General George H. Thomas. After a hot engagement, 
in which both sides lost heavily, the Confederates suffered a defeat M-hich 
v/as rendered more severe by the loss of Zollicoffer, who fell in the battle. 

The next operations were on the Tennessee and the Cumberland. 
The former river was commanded at the southern border of Kentucky by 
F(n-t Henry, and the latter by the more important Fort Donelson, ten 
miles south of the Tennessee line. At the beginning of the year the cap- 
ture of both these places was planned by General Hallcck. Early in 
February Commodore Foote M-as sent up the Tennessee Avith a flotilla of 
gunboats, and at the same time General Grant was ordered to move for- 
ward and co-operate in an attack on Fort Henry. Before the land-forces 
were well into position the flotilla compelled the evacuation of the fort, 
the Confederates escaping to Donelson. Eighty-three prisoners and a 
large amount of stores were captured. 

The Federal gunboats now dropped down the Tennessee, took on 
supplies at Cairo, and then ascended the Cumberland. Grant i)ressed on 
from Fort Henry, and as soon as the flotilla arrived began the siege of 
Fort Donelson. The defences were strong, and well manned by more 
than ten thousand Confederates, under General Buckner. Grant's entire 
force numbered nearly thirty thousand. On the 14th of February the 
gunboats were driven back with considerable loss, Commodore Foote 
being among the wounded. On the next day the garrison, hoping to 
break through Grant's lines, made a sally, but met a severe repulse. On 
the 16th Buckner was obliged to surrender. His army of ten thousand 
men became prisoners of war, and all the magazines, stores and guns of 
the fort fell into the hands of the Federals. It was the first decided vic- 
tory which had been won by the national arms. The immediate result 
of the capture was the evacuation of Kentucky and the capital of Tennes- 
see by the Confederates. 

After his success at Fort Donelson General Grant ascended the Ten- 
nessee as far as Pittsburg Landing. In the beginning of April a camp 
was established at Shiloh Church, a short distance from the river; and 
here, on the morning of the 6th, the Union army was suddenly attacked 
by the Confederates, led by Generals Albert S. Johnston and Beauregard. 



CA3IPAIGNS OF '62. 497 

The onset was at first successful. All day long the battle raged with tre- 
mendous slaughter on both sides. The Federals were forced back to the 
river, and but for the protection of the gunboats would have been driven 
to destruction. Xight fell on the scene with the conflict undecided : but 
in this desperate crisis General Buell arrived from Nashville with strong 
reinforcements. On the following morning General Grant assumed the 
offensive. General Johnston had been killed in the battle, and Beaure- 
gard, on whom the command devolved, was obliged to retreat to Corinth. 
The losses in killed, wounded and missing in this dreadful conflict w^ere 
more than ten thousand on each side. There had never before been such 
a harvest of death in the New World. 

Events of importance were also taking place on the ISIississippi. 
"When the Confederates evacuated Columbus, Kentucky, they proceeded 
to Island Number Ten, a few miles below, and built strong fortifications 
commanding the river. On the western shore was the town of New JNIad- 
rid, which was held by a Confederate force from Missouri. Against 
this place General Pope advanced with a body of Western troops, while 
Commodore Foote descended the Mississippi with his flotilla to attack 
the forts on the island. Pope was entirely successful in his movement, 
and gained possession of New Madrid. The land-forces then co-operated 
with the gunboats, and for twenty-three days Island Number Ten was 
vigorously bombarded. On the 7th of April, when the Confederates 
could hold out no longer, they attempted to escape ; but Pope had cut off 
retreat, and the entire garrison, numbering about five thousand, was cap- 
tured. The Mississippi was thus opened as far down as INIemphis, and 
tjiat city was taken by the fleet of Commodore Davis on the 6th of the 
following June. 

In the beginning of the year General Curtis had pushed forward 
through Missouri, entered Arkansas and taken position at Pea Ridge, 
among the mountains in the north-western angle of the State. Here he 
was attacked on the 6th of INIarch by an army of more than twenty thou- 
sand Confederates and Indians, under command of Generals McCulloch, 
Mcintosh and Pike. After a hard-fought battle, which lasted for two 
days, the Federals were victorious. JNIcCulloch and INIcIntosh were both 
killed and their men obliged to retreat toward Texas; but the Union 
losses were most severe, and the battle was barren of results. 

On the next day after the conflict at Pea Ridge an event occurred 
at Fortress Monroe which came near changing the character of naval 
warfare. Captain John Ericsson of New York had invented and built a 
peculiar war- vessel with a single round tower of iron exposed above the 
water-line. Meanwhile, the Confederates had raised the United States 



498 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

frigate Merrimae, one of the sunken ships at the Norfolk navj' yard, and 
had plated the sides with an impenetrable mail of iron. This done, the 
vessel was sent to attack the Union fleet at Fortress Monroe. Reaching 
that place on the 8th of March, the Merrimae, now called the Virginia^ 
began the work of destruction, and before sunset two valuable vessels, the 
Cumberland and tlie Congress, were sent to the bottom. During the night, 
however, Ericsson's strange ship, called the Monitor, arrived from New 
York, and on tlie following morning the tvA'O iron-clad monsters turned 
their terrible enginery upon each other. After fighting for five hours, 
the Virginia was obliged to give up the contest and to return badly dam- 
aged to Norfolk. Such was the excitement produced by this novel sea- 
fight that for a while the whole energies of the navy department were 
devoted to building monitors. 

Early in 1862 a strong land and naval force, commanded by Gen- 
eral Ambrose E. Burnside and Commodore Goldsborough, was sent 
against the Confederate garrison of Roanoke Island. On the 8th of Feb- 
ruary the squadron reached its destination ; the fortifications on the island 
were attacked and carried, and the garrisons, nearly three thousand strong, 
taken prisoners. Burnside next proceeded against Newbcrn, North Car- 
olina, and on the 14th of March captured the city after four hours of 
severe fighting. Proceeding southward, he reached the harbor of Beau- 
fort, carried Fort Macon, at the entrance, and on the 25th of April took 
possession of the town. 

On the 11th of the same month Fort Pulaski, commanding the 
mouth of the Savannah River, surrendered to General Gillmore. By 
this important capture the chief emporium of Georgia was effectually 
blockaded. But these reverses of the Confederates were trifling in com- 
parison wfth that which they sustained in tlie loss of the city of New 
Orleans. Early in April a powerful squadron, commanded by General 
Butler and Admiral Farragut, entered the Mississippi and proceeded as 
far as Forts Jackson and St. Philip, thirty miles above the gulf. The 
guns of these forts, standing on opposite shores, completely commanded 
the river, and obstructions had been placed in the channel. The forty- 
five vessels comprising the Federal fleet were brought into position, 
and a furious bombardment of the forts was begun. From the 18th to 
the 24th of April the fight continued without cessation. At the end of 
that time the forts were but little injured, and Farragut undertook the 
hazardous enterprise of running past the batteries. In this he succeeded, 
breaking the chain across the river and overpowering the Confederate 
fleet above the obstructions. On the next day he reached New Orleans 
with a portion of his fleet, and took possession of the city. General But- 



CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 499 

ler became commandant, and the fortifications were manned with fifteen 
thousand Federal soldiers. Tln-ee days afterward Forts Jackson and St. 
Philip surrendered to Admiral Porter, who had remained below and 
2^roseeuted the siege. The control of the Lower Mississippi and the me- 
tropolis of the South was thus recovered by the Federal government. 

The Confederates were not going to give up Kentucky without a 
struggle. From East Tennessee they invaded the State in two strong 
divisions, the one led by General Kirby Smith and the other by General 
Bragg. On the 30th of August Smith's army reached Eichmond, at- 
tacked a force of Federals stationed there, and routed them with heavy 
losses. Lexington was taken, and then Frankfort; and Cincinnati was 
saved from capture only by the extraordinary exertions of General Wal- 
lace. Meanwhile, the army of General Bragg had advanced from Chatta- 
nooga to Mumfordsville, where, on the 17th of September, he captured a 
Federal division of four thousand five hundred men. From this point 
the Confederate general pressed on toward Louisville, and would have 
taken the city but for a forced march of General Buell from Tennessee. 
The latter arrived with liis army only one day ahead of Bragg, but tliat 
one day gave the Unionists the advantage, and the Confederates were 
turned back. From the North came reinforcements for Buell's army, 
swelling his numbers to a hundred thousand. In the beginning of Octo- 
ber lie again took the field, the Confederates slowly retiring to Perryville. 
At this place, on the 8th of October, Bragg M'as overtaken, and a severe 
but indecisive battle was fought. The retreat was then continued to East 
Tennessee, the Confederates sweeping out of Kentucky a train of four 
thousand wagons laden with the spoils of the campaign. 

In September there were some stirring events in Mississippi. On 
the 19th of the month a hard battle was fought at luka between a Fed- 
eral army, commanded by Generals Eosecrans and Grant, and a Confed- 
erate force, under General Price. The latter was defeated, losing, in addi- 
tion to his killed and wounded, nearly a thousand prisoners. General 
Rosecrans now took post at Corinth with twenty thousand men, while 
General Grant, with the remainder of the Federal forces, proceeded to 
Jackson, Tennessee. Perceiving this division of the army, the Confede- 
rate generals Van Dorn and Price turned about to recapture Corinth. 
Advancing for that purpose, they came on the 3d of October upon the 
Federal defences. Another obstinately contested battle ensued, which 
ended, after two days' fighting and heavy losses on both sides, in the re- 
pulse of the Confederates. 

In the mean time, General Grant had removed his headquarters 
from Jackson to La Grange, His purpose was to co-operate with Gen- 



500 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



eral Sherman, then at Memphis, in an effort to capture Vicksburg. The 
movement promised to be successful, but on the 20th of December Gene- 
ral Van Dorn succeeded in cutting Grant's line of supplies at Holly 
Springs, and obliged him to retreat. On the same day General Sherman, 
with a powerful armament, dropped down the river from Memphis. 

Proceeding as far as the Yazoo, he 
effected a landing, and on the 29th 
of the month made an unsuccessful 
attack on the Confederates at Chick- 
asaw Bayou. The assault was ex- 
ceedingly disastrous to the Federals, 
who lost in killed, wounded and pris- 
oners more than three thousand men. 
The enterprise was at once aban- 
doned, and the defeated army re- 
turned to the fleet of gunboats in 
the Mississippi. 

The closing conflict of this 
year's operations in the West was 
the great battle of Murfreesborough. 
After his successful defence of Cor- 
inth General Rosecrans was trans- 
ferred to the command of the Army 
of the Cumberland. Late in the fall 
he made his headquarters at Nash- 
ville, and there collected a powerful 
army. Meanwhile, General Bragg, 
on his retirement from Kentucky, 
had thrown his forces into Murfreesborough. Thus the two generals 
found themselves foce to face, and but thirty miles apart. Late in 
December Rosecrans moved forward to attack his antagonist, and on the 
evening of the 30th came upon the Confederates strongly posted on 
Stone's River, a short distance north-west of Murfreesborough. During 
the night preparations were made on both sides for the impending 
battle. The plan of attack adopted by the Federal commander contem- 
plated the massing of his forces on the left in such numbers as to crush 
the Confederate right wing under Breckinridge before assistance could 
be brought from the west side of the river. Bragg's plan of battle was 
the exact counterpart of that adopted by Rosecrans. Before daylight 
the Confederates were heavily massed under Hardee on the left; and 
in the early morning the battle began by a furious and unexpected 




BATTLE OF MURFREESBOROUGH, DEC. 31ST, 1S62. 



CAMPAIGN OF '62. 



501 



charge on McCook who commanded the right wing of the Federals. 
McCook's outcry for help was at first unheeded by Rosecrans, who did 
not realize the real nature of the Confederate onset. After a terrible 
struggle which lasted until noonday the Union right was shattered to 
fragments and driven from the field. The brunt of the battle now fell 
U})on General Thomas, who commanded tiie 
Federal right center; and he, too, after des- 
perate fighting, was obliged to fall back to 
a new position. Here, however, he rallied 
his forces and held his ground until Gen- 
eral Ilosecrans readjusted his whole line of 
battle. While this work was going on, the 
Confederates were barely prevented from a 
complete and overwhelming triumph by the 
almost unparalleled heroism of the division 
of General William B. Hazen. With only 
thirteen hundred men he stayed the oncom- 
ing tide of victorious assailants until the 
Federal lines were completely restored. At 
nightfall more than seven thousand Union 
soldiers were missing from the ranks. 

But General Rosecrans, though de- 
feated, was by no means disposed to abandon 
tlie contest. During the night after the bat- 
tle, a council of war Mas held and complete preparations were made for 
renewing the struirffle on the morrow. On New Year's mornino; Gen- 
eral Bragg found his antagonist strongly posted, with shortened lines, 
and manifest disposition for battle. The Confederate commander 
grew cautious; and the day was spent in indecisive skirmishing and 
artillery firing at long range. Early on the morning of the 2d, the 
conflict broke out afresh on the east side of Stone's River, and for 
some hours there was terrific cannonading in that quarter. At three 
o'clock in the afternoon the Confederates were massed against the 
Union left, and the Nationals were driven across the river by the 
shock. But at this juncture the Federal artillery, advantageously 
posted on the hills west of the stream, opened a murderous fire 
on the assailing columns. At the same time, the discomfited 
Federals, rallying to the charge, turned upon their pursuers and 
in one tremendous onset drove them from the field with the slaugh- 
ter of thousands. General Bragg had lost the prize. During the 
night he withdrew his broken and exhausted columns through 




BATTLE OF MrKFREESBOROUGH, JAN. 
■Jd, ISGo. 



502 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Murfreesborough and retreated in the direetion of Tullahoma. The 
Union loss in tlie two battles was a thonsand five hundred and thirty- 
three killed, seven thousand two hundred and forty-five wounded, and 
nearly three thousand prisoners; that of the Confederates amounted 
in killed, wounded, and prisoners to between ten and eleven thou- 
sand men. 

In A'^irginia the campaigns of 1862 were even more grand and 
destructive than those in the AVest. The first stirring scenes of the 
year were enacted in the Shenandoah Valley. Desiring to occupy 
this important district, the Federal government sent forward a strong 
division under General Banks, who pressed his way southward, and in 
the last days of March occupied the town of Harrisonburg. In order 
to counteract this movement, the gallant Stonewall Jackson was sent 
with a force of twenty thousand men to pass the Blue Ridge and cut 
off Banks's retreat. At Front Royal, on the Shenandoah, just before 
the gap in the Mountains, the Confederates fell upon a body of 
Federals, routed them, captured their guns and all the military stores 
in the town. Banks succeeded, however, in passing with his main 
division to Strasburg. There he learned of the disaster at Front 
Royal, and immediately began his retreat down the valley. Jackson 
pursued him hotly, and it was only by the utmost exertions that the 
Federals gained the northern bank of the Potomac. 

The Confederate leader, though completely victorious, now found 
himself in great peril. For General Fremont, at the head of a strong 
force of fresh troops, had been sent into the valley to intercept the re- 
treat of the Confederates. It was now Jackson's time to save his 
army. AVith the utmost celerity he sped up the valley, and succeeded 
in reaching Cross Keys before Fremont could attack him. Even 
then the battle was so little decisive that Jackson pressed on to Port 
Republic, attacked the division of General Shields, defeated it, and 
then retired from the scene of his brilliant campaign to join in the 
defense of Richmond. 

On the 10th of ^March the grand army of the Potomac, num- 
bering nearly two hundred thousand men, under command of General 
McClellan, set out from the camps about Washington to capture the 
Confederate capital. The advance proceeded as far. as Manassas Junc- 
tion, the Confederates falling back and forming a new line of defences 
on the Rappahannock. At this stage of the campaign McClellan, 
changing his plan, embarked a hundred and twenty thousand of his 
men for Fortress Monroe, intending from that point to march up the 
peninsula between the James and the York. By the 4th of April the 



CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 



503 



transfer of troops was completed, and the Union army left Fortress 
Monroe for Yorktown. This place was garrisoned by ten thousand 
Confederates under General Magruder; and yet with so small a force 
McClellan's advance was delayed for a whole month. When at last, 
on the 4th of May, Yorktown was taken by siege, the Federal army 
pressed forward to Williamsburg, 
where the Confederates made a 
stand,' but were defeated with se- 
vere losses. Four days afterward, 
in an engagement at West Point, 
at the confluence of the ISIatta- 
pony and Pamunkey, the Confed- 
erates were again overpowered and 
driven back. The way to Rich- 
mond was now open as far as the 
Chickahominy, ten miles north 
of the city. The Union army 
reached that stream without fur- 
ther resistance, and crossed at 
Bottom's Bridge. 

Meanwhile, General Wool, 
the commandant of Fortress Mon- 
roe, had not been idle. On the 
10th of May he led an expedition 
against Norfolk and captured the 
town ; for the Confederate garri- 
son had been withdrawn to aid in the defence of Richmond. On the 
next day the celebrated iron-clad Virginia was blown up to save her 
from capture by the Federals. The James River was thus opened for 
the ingress of national transports laden with supplies for the Army 
of the Potomac, That army, now advanced toward Richmond, and 
when but seven miles from the city was attacked on the 31st of May by 
the Confederates at a place called Fair Oaks or Seven Pines. Here 
for a part of two days the battle raged with great fury. At last the 
Confederates were driven back; but McClellan's victory was by no 
means decisive. The Confederate loss was largest, amounting to 
nearly eight thousand in killed and wounded; that of the Feder- 
als was more than five thousand. Among the severely wounded was 
General Joseph E. Johnston, the commander-in-chief of the Con- 
federates. Two days after the battle his place was filled by the 
appointment of General Robert E. Lee, a man of military genius, 




SCENE OF CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA, MARYLAND 
AND PENNSYLVANIA, 1862. 



§04 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



On 
aii- 
en- 



wlio, until its final downfall, remained the chief stay of the Confed- 
eracy. 

In the lull that followed the battle of Fair Oaks, McClcllan 
formed the design of changing his base of supplies from the White 
House, on the Pamunkey, to some suitable point on the James. The 

movement was one 
of the utmost haz- 
ard, and before it 
was fai rly b e g u n 
General Lee, on 
the 25th of June, 
swooped down on 
the right wing of 
the Union army at 
Oak Grove, and a 
hard -fought battle 
ensued without de- 
cisive results, 
the next day 
other dreadful 
gagement occurred 
a t Mechanicsville, 
and this time the 
Federals won the 
field. But on the 
following morning 
Lee renewed tlic 
struggle at Gaines's Mill, and came out victorious. On the 28th there 
was but little fighting. On the 29th McClellan's retreating army was 
twice attacked — in the morning at Savage's Station and in the afternoon 
in the White Oak Swamp — but the divisions defending the rearguard 
kept the Confederates at bay. On the 30th was fought the desperate 
but indecisive battle of Glendale or Frazier's Farm. On that night 
the Federal army reached Malvern Hill, on the north bank of the 
James, twelve miles below Richmond. Although this position Avas 
protected by the Federal gunboats in the river. General Lee deter- 
mined to carry the place by storm. Accordingly, on the morning of 
the 1st of July the whole Confederate army rushed forward to the as- 
sault. All day long the furious struggle for the possession of the high 
grounds continued. Not until nine o'clock at night did Lee's shat- 
tered columns fall back exhausted. For seven days the terrific roar 




GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE. 



CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 



505 




VICINITY OF RICII.AIOND, 18G2. 



of battle had been heard almost without cessation. Xo such dreadful 
scenes had ever before been enacted on the American continent. 

Althono-h victorious on Malvern Hill, General McClellan, instead 
of advancing at once on Richmond, chose a less hazardous movement, 
and on the 2d of July retired with his army to Harrison's Landing, 

a few miles down the river. The ^ 

great campaign was really at an 
end. The Federal army had lost 
more than fifteen thousand men, 
and the capture of Richmond, the 
great object for which the expedi- 
tion had been undertaken, seemed 
further off than ever. The losses 
of the Confederates had been heav- 
ier than those of the Union army, 
but all the moral effect of a great 
victory remained with the exultant 
South. 

General Lee, perceiving that 
Richmond was no longer endan- 
gered, immediately formed the de- 
sign of invading Maryland and capturing the Federal capital. The 
LTnion troops between Richmond and Washington, numbering in the 
afftrreffate about fifty thousand, were under command of General John 
Pope. They were scattered in detachments from Fredericksburg to 
Winchester and Harper's Ferry. Lee moved northward about the 
middle of August, and on the 20th of the month Pope, concentrating 
his forces as rapidly as possible, put the Rappahannock betAveen his 
army and the advancing Confederates. Meanwhile General Banks, 
while attempting to form a junction with Pope, was attacked by Stone- 
wall Jackson at Cedar Mountain, where nothing but desperate fighting 
saved the Federals from complete rout. 

No sooner had Pope gotten his forces well in hand than Jackson 
shot by with his division on a flank movement, reached Manassas 
Junction, and made large captures of men and stores. Pope with great 
audacity threw his army between the two divisions of the Confederates, 
hoping to crush Jackson before Lee could come to the rescue. On 
August 28th and 29th there was terrible but undecisive fighting at 
Manassas Junction, the old Bull Run battle-ground, and Centreville. 
At one time it seemed that Lee's army would be completely defeated; 
but Pope's reinforcements were purposely delayed by General Porter, 



506 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and on the 31st of the month the Confederates bore down on the 
Union army at Chantilly, fought all day, and won a victory. Gen- 
erals Stevens and Kearney were among the thousands of brave men 
who fell in this battle. On that night Pope withdrew his shattered 
columns as rapidly as possible, and found safety within the defences 
of Washington. His wish to be relieved of his command was imme- 
diately complied with; his forces, known as the Army of Virginia, 
were consolidated with the Army of the Potomac, which had now 
been recalled from the peninsula below Pichmond; and General Mc- 
Clellan was placed in supreme command of all the divisions about 
Washington. 

General Lee prosecuted his invasion of Maryland. Passing up 
the right bank of the Potomac, he crossed to Point of Rocks, and on 
the 6th of September captured Frederick. On the 10th Hagerstown 
was taken, and on the 15th a division of the Confederate army, led 
by Stonewall Jackson came upon Harper's Ferry and frightened Colo- 
nel Miles into surrender by which the garrison, nearly twelve thou- 
sand strong, became prisoners of war. On the previous day there was 
a hard-fought engagement at South Mountain, in which the Federals, 
led by Hatch and Doubleday, were victorious. McClellan's whole 
army was now in the immediate rear of Lee, who, on the niglit of the 
14th, fell back to Antietam Creek, and took a strong position in the 
vicinity of Sharpsburg. On the morning of the 15th there was some 
sharp but desultory fighting between the Union and Confederate cav- 
alry. During the afternoon the Federal advance, coming in on the 
Sharpsburg road from Keedysville, received the opening salutes of the 
Confederate guns on the Antietam. But nightfall came without a se- 
rious conflict. On the following morning there was great activity of 
preparation in both armies. Later in the day the corps of General 
Hooker, who commanded on the Federal right, was thrown across the 
stream which separated the combatants and brought into a favorable , 
position for action. In this quarter of the field the Confederate left 
under General Hood was assaulted and di'iven back a half mile in the 
direction of Sharpsburg. The rest of the day was spent in an irregu- 
lar cannonade. During the night General Mansfield's corps crossed 
the Antietam on the north bridge and joined Hooker. 

On the morning of the 17th both commanders had their armies 
well into position, the Federals being strongest in numbers and the 
Confederates having the advantage of an unfordable stream in their 
front. It was of the first importance that General McClellan should 
gain and hold the four stone bridges by which only his forces could 



CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 



507 



be thrown to the other side. General Burnsicle, who was ordered to 
take the lower bridge, cross over, and attack the division of A. P. 
Hill, encountered unexpected delays and was greatly retarded in his 
movements. On the right, Hooker renewed the battle at sunrise, and 
until late in the afternoon the conflict raged with almost unabated 
fury. Here fell the a 

veteran General Mans- 
field and thousands of 
his comrades. Mean- 
while, Burnside had 
forced the lower cross- 
i n g a n d carried the 
battle far up in the di- 
rection of Sharpsburg. 
But the Confederates 
being reinforced from 
other parts of the field 
made a rally, and the 
Federals were driven 
back nearly to the An- 
tietam. It was only by 
terrible fi<i:litino; that 
General Burnside suc- 
ceeded in holding his 
position on the west 
bank of the s t r c a m . 
But on the approach 
of darkness the great- 
er part of the Union 
army had gained a safe 
lodgment between the 
creek and Sharpsburg. 
Nevertheless, the Confederate forces occupied nearly the same ground 
as in the morning; and it seemed that the final struggle was reserved 
for the morrow. On that day, however. General McClellan acted on 
the defensive. Two strong divisions of reinforcements, under Generals 
Humphreys and Couch, arrived, and it was resolved to renew the at- 
tack on the following morning. But in the mean time. General Lee 
had taken advantage of the delay, withdrawn his shattered legions from 
their position, and recrossed the Potomac into A^irginia. The great 
conflict which had cost each army more than ten thousand men had 




THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM, SEPTEMBER 17, '62. 



508 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



ended in a drawn battle in which there is little to be praised except 
the heroism of the soldiery. To the Confederates, however, the result 
^vas almost as disastrous as defeat. The promised uprising of the 
people of Maryland in behalf of the Confederate cause did not occur 
and General Lee was obliged to give up a fruitless and hopeless in- 
vasion which, in the short space of a month, had cost him nearly 

thirty thousand men. On the 
other side, the expectations 
which had been inspired by 
the movements and despatch- 
es of the Union commander 
previous to the battle had been 
sorely disappointed. 

On the 26th of October, 
General McClellan, following 
the retreating Confederates, 
again entered Virginia, and 
reached Rectortown. It was 
the purpose of the Federal 
government that the Army 
of the Potomac should, be- 
fore the approach of winter, 
be thrown forward in a sec- 
ond attempt against R i c h - 
mond. The Union command- 
er still preferred to advance 
by the route which he had 
taken the previous spring, making his base of supplies at West Point 
on the Pamunkey. But this plan was open to the objection that AVash- 
ington citv would thereby be again uncovered and exposed to a coun- 
ter movement on the part of the Confederates. Yielding to the pro- 
test of the President and hi,? cabinet, McClellan altered his plans and 
chose Alexandria on the Potomac as his base of operations. From 
this point it was proposed to advance on the Confederate capital by 
way of the Orange Railroad through Culpepper to Gordonsville, and 
thence by the Virginia Central to its junction with the line reaching 
from Fredericksburg to Richmond. The month of October was 
wasted with delays, and November was well begun before the Federal 
general with his army of a hundred and twenty thousand men, an- 
nounced himself ready for the forward movement. On the 7th of 




THE PROPOSED KOUTES FROM WASHINGTON TO PJCH- 
JIOND, 1862. 



CAMPAIGNS OF '62. 509 

the month, just as the Union commander was about to begin the cam- 
paign, he was superseded and his command transferred to General 
Burnside. Right or wrong, the President at last reached the decision 
that General McClellan Avas a man over-cautious and slow — too pru- 
dent and too much absorbed in preliminaries to lead tlie armies of 
the Republic to victory. 

General Burnside immediately changed the plan of the proposed 
campaign. It was decided to form a new base of supplies at the 
mouth of Acquia Creek, fifty-five miles below Washington and from 
that point to force a way by battle southward through Fredericks- 
burg. But again movements were much delayed, and that, too, when 
everything depended on celerity. The pontoons, which were neces- 
sary for tlie crossing of the Rappahannock, were not forthcoming, 
and a fortnight was lost in preparations. General Lee found abun- 
dant time to gather his legions and occupy the heights in the vicinity 
of Fredericksburg. It was not a part of his plan to dispute the pas- 
sage of the river but to allow the Federals to cross over and then 
beat them back from his entrenchments. On the 11th of December 
the Union army was brought into position on the east bank of the 
Rappahannock. The divisions lay from the village of Falmouth to 
a point opposite the mouth of the Massaponax, about three miles be- 
low\ In front of the corps of General Franklin, who commanded 
the Federal left wing, the pontoons were successfully laid and the 
crossing of the river was effected without serious opposition. But 
opposite Fredericksburg, where the divisions of Generals Sumner and 
Hooker, who held the Union center and right, were to cross, the work 
of laying the bridges was hindered by the Confederate sharpshooters 
lying concealed in the town. General Burnside ordered the Federal 
guns to be turned in that direction, and in a short time Fredericks- 
burg was battered and burned into ruins. Some Union regiments 
were next ferried over in boats, and the Confederate picket lines were 
driven back to the heights. The bridges were completed, and by 
nightfiiU of the 12th the army had been transferred to the western 
side of the river. 

On the morning of the 13th the battle began on the left where 
Franklin's division encountered the corps of Stonewall Jackson. A 
gallant charge was made by General Meade and a gap was made in 
the Confederate lines; but no reinforcements were sent forward; the 
Confederates rallied, and the Federals were driven back with a loss 
of three thousand seven hundred men. Jackson's loss was almost as 



510 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

great, and in this part of the field neither side might claim a decisive 
victory. Not so in the center and on the left. Here a portion of 
General Sumner's men were ordered forward against the Confederates 
securely and impregnably posted on Marye's Hill. They were mowed 
down by thousands and hurled back in disdain, while the defenders 
of the heights hardly lost a man. Time and again the assault was 
recklessly renewed. A part of Hooker's gallant troops, led by Gen- 
eral Humphreys, came forward ; charged with unloaded guns ; and in 
fifteen minutes one-half of the four thousand brave fellows went down 
in death. Night came and ended the useless carnage. General Burn- 
side would have renewed the battle ; but his division commanders 
finally dissuaded him and on the night of the 15th the Federal army 
was silently withdrawn across the Rappahannock. The Union losses 
in this terrible conflict amounted to a thousand five hundred killed, 
nine thousand one hundred wounded, and sixteen hundred and fifty 
prisoners and missing. The Confederates lost in killed five hundred 
and ninety-five, four thousand and sixty-one wounded, and six hun- 
dred and fifty-three missing and prisoners. Of all the important 
movements of the war only that of Fredericksburg was undertaken 
with no probability of success. Under the plan of the battle — if 
plan it might be called, nothing could be reasonably expected but 
repulse, rout, and ruin. Thus in gloom and disaster to the Federal 
cause ended the great campaign of 1862. 



CHAPTER LXV. 

THE WORK OF '63. 



THE war had now grown to enormous proportions. The Confederate 
States were draining every resource of men and means in order to 
support their armies. The superior energies of the North, though by no 
means exhausted, were greatly taxed. In the previous year, on the day 
after the battle of Malvern Hill, President Lincoln had issued a call for 
three hundred thousand additional troops. During the exciting days of 
Pope's retreat from the Rappahannock he sent forth another call for three 



THE WORK OF '63. 511 

hundred thousand, and to that was added a requisition for a draft of three 
hundred thousand more. Most of these enormous demands were promptly 
met, and it became evident that in respect to resources the Federal gov- 
ernment was vastly superior to the Confederacy. 

On the 1st day of January, 1863, the President issued one of the 
most important documents of modern times: The Emancipation 
Proclamation.'''' The war had been begun with no well-defined inten- 
tion on the part of the government to free the slaves of the South. But 
the President and the Republican party looked with disfavor on the in- 
stitution of slavery; during the progress of t\\& war the sentiment of 
abolition had grown with great rapidity in the North ; and when at last 
it became a military necessity to strike a blow at the labor-system of the 
Southern States, the step was taken with but little hesitancy or oppo- 
sition. Thus, after an existence of two hundred and forty-four years, the 
institution of African slavery in the United States was swept away. 

The military movements of the new year began on the ISIississippi 
After his defeat at Chickasaw Bayou, General Sherman laid a plan for 
the capture of Arkansas Post, on the Arkansas River. In the first days 
of January an expedition set out for that purpose, the land-forces being 
commanded by General McClernand, and the flotilla by Admiral Porter. 
Entering the Arkansas, the Union forces reached their destination on the 
10th of the month, fought a hard battle with the Confederates, gained a 
victory, and on the next day received the surrender of the post with 
nearly five thousand prisoners. After this success the expedition returned 
to the vicinity of Vicksburg, in order to co-operate with General Grant 
in a second effort to capture that stronghold of the Confederacy. 

Again the Union forces were collected at INIemphis, and embarked 
on the Mississippi. A landing was effected at the Yazoo; but the cap- 
ture of the city from that direction was decided to be impracticable. The 
first three months of the year were spent by General Grant in beating 
about the bayous, swamps and hills around Vicksburg, in the hope of 
getting a position in the rear of the town. A canal was cut across a 
bend in the river with a view to turning the channel of the INIississippi 
and opening a passage for the gunboats. But a flood in the river washed 
the works away, and the enterprise ended in failure. Then another 
canal was begun, only to be abandoned. Finally, in the first days of 
April, it was determined at all hazards to run the fleet past the Vicksburg 
batteries. Accordingly, on the night of the 16th, the boats were made 
ready and silently dropped down the river. All of a sudden the guns 
burst forth with terrible discharges of shot and shell, pelting the jDassing 

■■■•" See Appendix H. 



512 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 




steamers ; but they went by with comparatively little damage, and found 
a safe position below the city. 

Elated with the successful pas- 
sage of his fleet, General Grant 
now marched his land-forces down 
the right bank of the Mississippi 
and formed a junction with the 
squadron. On the 30th of April 
he crossed the river at Bruinsburg, 
and on the following day fought 
and defeated the Confederates at 
Port Gibson. The evacuation of 
Grand Gulf, at the mouth of the 
Big. Black River, followed imme- 
vicKSBURG AND VICINITY, 1863. dlatcly aftcrward. The Union army 

now swept around to the re^r of Vicksburg. On the morning of 
the 12th a strong Confederate force was encountered at Raymond, and 
after a severe engagement was repulsed. Pressing on toward Jackson, 
the capital of Mississippi, General Grant's right wing, under Sherman and 
McPherson, met the advance of General Johnston's division coming to 
reinforce the garrison of Vicksburg. Here, on the 14th of the month, 
a decisive battle was fought ; the Confederates were beaten, and the city 
of Jackson captured. The comnuniications of Vicksburg were now cut 
oif, and General Pembertoil Avas obliged to repel the Federals or suffer a 
siege. Sallying forth with the greater part of his forces, he met the Union 
army on the 16th at Champion Hills,' on Baker's Creek. In the battle 
that followed, as well as in a conflict at the Black River Bridge on the 
17th, Grant was again victorious, and Pemberton retired witli his dis- 
heartened troops within the defences of Vicksburg. 

The investment of the city was rapidly completed. Believing that 
the Confederate works could be carried by storm, General Grant, on the 
lOtli of May, ordered an assault, Avhich resulted in a repulse with terrible 
losses. Three days afterward the attempt was renewed, but the assailants 
Avere again hurled back with a still greater destruction of life. The 
Union loss in these two unsuccessful assaults amounted to nearly three 
thousand men. Finding that Vicksburg could not be taken by storm, 
General Grant began a regular siege, and pressed it with ever-increasing 
severity. Admiral Porter got his gunboats into position and bombarded 
the unfortunate town incessantly. Reinforcements swelled the Union 
ranks. On the other hand, the garrison of the city was in a starving con- 
dition. Still, Pemberton held out for more than a month ; and it was 



THE WORK OF '63. 513 

not until the 4th of July that he was driven to surrender. By the act 
of capitulation the defenders of Vicksburg, numbering nearly thirty 
thousand, became prisoners of war. Thousands of small-arms, hundreds 
of cannon, vast quantities of ammunition and warlike stores were the 
fruits of this great Union victory, by which the national government 
gained more and the Confederacy lost more than in any previous struggle 
of the war. 

Meanwhile, General Banks, who had superseded General Butler in 
command of the department of the gulf, had been conducting a vigor- 
ous campaign on the Lower Mississippi. Early in January, from his 
headquarters at Baton liouge, he advanced into Louisiana, reached Brash- 
ear City, and shortly afterward gained a victory over a Confederate force 
at a place called Bayou Teche. Returning to the Mississippi, lie moved 
northward to Port Hudson, invested the place and began a siege. The 
beleaguered garrison, under General Gardner, made a brave defence ; and 
it was not until the 8th of July, when the news of the fall of Vicksburg 
was borne to Port Hudson, that the commandant, with his force of more 
than six thousand men, was obliged to capitulate. By this important 
surrender the control of the Mississippi throughout its w^hole length was 
recovered by the National government. 

During the progress of the M^ar cavalry raids became more and more 
frequent. Of this nature was Stonewall Jackson's campaign down the 
Shenandoah valley in the summer of 1862. Later in the same year, just 
after the battle of Antietam, the Confederate General Stuart, with a troop 
of eighteen hundred cavalrymen, made a dash into Pennsylvania, reached 
Chambersburg, captured the town, made a complete circuit of the Army 
of the Potomac, and returned in safety to Virginia. Just before the in- 
vestment of A-^icksburg, Colonel Benjamin Grierson, of the Sixth Illinois . 
Cavalry, struck out "with his command from La Grange, Tennessee, en- 
tered Mississippi, traversed the State to the east of Jackson, cut the rail- 
roads, destroyed property, and after a rapid course of more than eight 
hundred miles gained the river at Baton Eouge. By these raids the 
border country of both sections was kept in perpetual agitation and alarm.. 

For a while after the battle of Murfreesborough Rosecrans re- 
mained inactive. Late in the spring Colonel Streight's command went 
on a raid into Georgia, met the division of the Confederate general 
Forrest, was surrounded and ca])tured. In the latter part of June, Rose- 
crans bv a series of flank movements succeeded in crowding General Bragg., 
out of Tennessee into Georgia. The union general followed his antago- 
nist and took post at Chattanooga, on the left bank of the Tennessee. 
During the summer months General Bragg was heavily reinforced by 

33 



514 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Johnston from Mississippi, and Longstreet from Virginia. On the 19th 
of September he turned upon the Federal army at Chickamauga Creek, 
in the north-west angle of Georgia. During this day a hard battle 
was fought, but night fell on the scene with the victory undecided. 
Durino- the nidit the Confederates were reinforced by the arrival of 
General Lono-street, who was stationed with his division on the left 

wing of Bragg's army. The 



tot) 

rioht was i>;iven to General 

to to 

Polk, while the center was 
held by Ewell and Johnston. 
The Federal left wing was 
c o m m a n d e d b y General 
Thomas, the center by Crit- 
tenden, and the right by Mc- 
Cook. The plan of the Con- 
federate commander was to 
crush the Union line, force 
his way through a gap in 
Missionary Ridge, capture 
Rossville and Chattanooga, 
and annihilate Rosecrans's 
army. The battle began at 
half past eight o'clock on 
the morning of the 20th, 
the Confederates moving on 
in powerful masses, and 
the Federals holding their 
ground with unflinching courage. After the conflict had continued 
for some hours, the national battle-line was opened by General Wood, 
acting under mistaken orders. The Confederate general, seeing his 
advantage, thrust forward a heavy column into the gap, cut the Union 
army in two, and drove the shattered right wing in utter rout from 
the field. General Thomas, with a desperate firmness hardly equaled 
in the annals of war, held the left until nightfall, and then, under 
cover of darkness, withdrew into Chattanooga, where the defeated 
array of Rosecrans had already found shelter. The Union losses in 
this dreadful battle amounted in killed, wounded and missing to 
nearly nineteen thousand, and the Confederate loss was even more 
appalling. 

General Bragg at once pressed forward to besiege Chattanooga. 
The Federal lines of communication were cut ofl\, and for a while the 
army of Rosecrans was in danger of being annihilated. But General 




BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA, SEPT. 19, 20, 1S63 



THE WORK OF '63. 



515 



Hooker arrived with two corps from the Army of the Potomac, opened 
the Tennessee River, and brought relief to the besieged. At the same 
time General Grant, being promoted to the chief command of the 
Western armies, assumed the direction of affairs at Chattanooga. Gen- 
eral Sherman also arrived with his division, so strengthening the Army 
of the Cumber- 
land that offen- 
sive operations 
were at once 
renewed. The 
left wing of 
the Confederate 
army now rest- 
ed on Look- 
out Mountain, 
and the right 
o n ]\Iissionary 
Ridge. A po- 
sition seemingly 
more impregna- 
ble could hard- 
ly be conceived 
of. General 
Bragg was not 
only confident 
of his ability to 
hold his lines 
against any ad- 
vance of the Federals but even contemplated the storming of Chatta- 
nooga. On the 20th of November he gave notice to General Grant to 
remove all non-combatants as the town was about to be bombarded; 
but no attention was paid to the despatch. On the 23d General Hooker 
threw his corps across the river below Chattanooga and gained a foot- 
ing at the mouth of Lookout Creek facing the mountain. From this 
position the assault was made on the following morning. Hooker was 
supported by the divisions of Generals Geary and Osterhaus, and the 
remainder of the Union army was kept in a state of activity in order 
to prevent the reinforcement of Lookout from Missionary Ridge. A 
dense fog hung like a hood over the mountain, effectually concealing 
the movements of the Federals. The charge began between eight and 
nine o'clock, and in the space of two hours the ranges of Confederate 
rifle-pits among the foot-hills had been successfully carried. It had 




LOOKOUT MOONTAIN AND MISSIONARY KIDGE, NOV. 23-25, 1863. 



516 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

been General Hooker's purpose to pause when this work should be 
accomplished, but the enthusiasm of his army rose to such a pitch as 
to suggest the still greater achievement of carrying the whole Confed- 
erate position. Taking advantage of the fog and the spirit of his 
soldiers Hooker again gave the command to charge ; and up the almost 
inaccessible slopes of the mountain the troops sprang forward with re- 
sistless energy. It was such a scene of dauntless heroism as has rarely 
been portrayed in the records of battle. The charging columns, strug- 
gling against the obstacles of nature and facing the murderous fire of 
the Confederate guns, could not be checked. The Union flag was 
carried to the top; and before two o'clock in the afternoon Lookout 
Mountain, with its cloud-capped summit overlooking the town and 
river, was swarming with Federal soldiers. Tlie routed Confederates 
retreated down the eastern slope and across the intervening hills and 
valleys in the direction of Missionary Ridge. 

The second great conflict was reserved for the morrow. During 
the night of the 24th General Bragg concentrated his forces and made 
preparations to defend his position to the last. On the following 
morning Hooker's victorious troops poured down from Lookout, 
crossed the Chattanooga, and renewed the battle at the southwestern 
extremity of Missionary Ridge. General Sherman had already built 
pontoon bridges over the Tennessee and Chickamauga, thrown his 
corps across those streams, and gained a lodgment on the northeastern 
declivity of the Ridge. General Thomas, commanding the Union 
center, lay with his impatient soldiers, on the southern and eastern 
slopes of Orchard Knob, awaiting the result of Sherman's and Hooker's 
onsets. At two o'clock in the afternoon orders were given by Gen- 
eral Grant for an assault along the whole line. And the command 
was instantly obeyed. The thrilling scene of Lookout Mountain was 
again enacted. The Federal soldiers charged to the summit of Mis- 
sionary Ridge and the Confederates were driven into a disastrous rout. 
During the night General Bragg withdrcAV his shattered columns and 
retreated in the direction of Ringgold, Georgia. The Federal losses 
in the two great battles amounted to seven hundred and fifty-seven 
killed, four thousand five hundred and twenty-nine wounded, and three 
hundred and thirty missing; the loss of the Confederates in killed, 
wounded and prisoners reached considerably beyond ten thousand. 
The results of the conflict were so decisive as to put an end to the 
war in Tennessee until it was renewed by Hood at Franklin and 
Nashville in the winter of 1864, 

In the mean time, General Burnside was making an effcirt to hold 
East Tennessee. On the 1st of September he arrived with his command 



THE WORK OF '63. 517 

at Kuoxv^ille, where he was received by the people with lively satisfac- 
tion. After the battle of Chickamauga, General Longstreet was sent Into 
East Tennessee to counteract the movements of the Unionists. On his 
march to Knoxville he overtook and captured several small detachments 
of Federal troops, then invested the town and began a siege. On the 
29th of November the Confederates made an attempt to cany Knoxville 
by storm, but were repulsed with heavy losses. After the retreat of Bragg 
from Chattanooga, General Sherman marched to the relief of Burnside; 
but before he could reach Knoxville, Longstreet raised the siege and re- 
treated into Virginia. 

In the early part of 1863 the Confederates, led by Generals Mar- 
maduke and Price, resumed activity in Arkansas and Southern INIissouri. 
On the 8th of January they made an attack on Springfield, but were re- 
pulsed with considerable losses. Three days afterward, at the town of 
Hartsville, a battle was fought with a similar result. On the 26th of 
April, General Marmaduke attacked the post at Cape Girardeau, on the 
Mississippi, but the garrison succeeded in driving the Confederates away. 
On the day of the surrender of Vicksburg the Confederate general 
Holmes, with a force of nearly eight thousand men, made an attack 
on Helena, Arkansas, but was repulsed with a loss of one-fifth of his 
men. On the 13th of August the town of Lawrence, Kansas, was 
sacked and burned, and a hundred and forty persons killed by a band 
of desperate fellows led by a chieftain called Quantrell. On the 10th 
of September the Federal general Steele reached Little Eock, the 
capital of Arkansas, captured the city and restored the national authority 
in the State. 

To the summer of this year belongs the story of General John 
Morgan's great raid tlirough Kentucky into Indiana and Ohio. His 
starting-point Avas Sparta, Tennessee; the number of his forces three 
thousand. Pushing northward through Kentucky, he gathered strength, 
reached the Ohio at Brandenburg, crossed into Indiana, and began his 
march to the north and east. He was resisted at Corj'don and other 
points by bodies of home-guards, and hotly pursued by a force under 
General Hobson. Morgan crossed into Ohio at Harrison, made a circuit 
to the north of Cincinnati, and attempted to recross the river. But the 
Ohio was now guarded by gunboats, and the raiders Avere driven back. 
AVith numbers constantly diminishing the Confederate leader pressed on, 
fighting and flying, until he came near the town of New Lisbon, where 
he was surrounded and captured by the brigade of General Shackelford. 
For nearly four months Morgan was held as a prisoner; then mak- 
ing his escape, he fled to Kentucky, and finally reached Richmond. 

The year 1863 was marked by some movements of importance on 



518 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

the sea-coast. On the 1st of January General Marraaduke, by a brilliant 
exploit, captured Galveston, Texas. By this means the Confederates se- 
cured a port of entry, of Avhich they Avere greatly in need in the South- 
west. On the 7th of April Admiral Dupont, with a powerful fleet of iron- 
clads, made an attempt to capture Charleston, but the squadron was driven 
back much damaged. In the last days of June the siege of the city was 
begun anew by a strong land-force, under command of General Q. A. 
Gillmore, assisted by the fleet under Admiral Dahlgren. The Federal 
army first effected a lodgment on Folly Island, and soon afterward on 
the south end of Morris Island, where batteries were planted bearing upon 
Fort Sumter in the channel and Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg at the 
northern extremity of the island. After the bombardment liad continued 
for some time, General Gillmore, on the 18th of July, made an attempt 
to carry Fort Wagner by assault, but was repulsed with a loss of more 
than fifteen hundred men. The siege then progressed until the night of 
the 6th of September, when the Confederates evacuated the fort and Bat- 
tery Gregg, and retired to Charleston. Gillmore thus obtained a position 
within four miles of the city, and brought his guns to bear on the wharves 
and buildings of the lower town. Meanwhile, the Avails of Fort Sumter, 
on the side next to Morris Island had been pounded into powder by the 
land-batteries and guns of the monitors. The harbor and city, however, 
still remained under control of the Confederates, the only gain of the 
Federals being the establishment of a blockade so complete as to seal up 
the port of Charleston. 

During the spring and summer of 1863 the Army of the Potomac 
was engaged in several desperate conflicts. After his fatal repulse at 
Fredericksburg General Burnside was superseded by General Joseph 
Hooker, who, in the latter part of April, moved forward with his army in 
full force, crossed the Rappahannock and the Rapidan, and reached 
Chancellorsville. Here, on the evening of the 2d of May, he was at- 
tacked by the veteran Army of Northern Virginia, led by Lee and Jack- 
son. The latter general, with extraordinary daring, put himself at the 
head of a division of twenty-five thousand men, filed off from the battle- 
field, outflanked the Union army, burst like a thunder-cloud upon the 
right wing, and swept everything to destruction. But it was the last of 
Stonewall's battles. As night came on, with ruin impending over the 
Federal army, the brave Confederate leader, riding through the gather- 
ing darkness, received a volley from his own lines, and fell mortally 
wounded. He lingered a week, and died at Guinea Station, leaving a 
gap in the Confederate ranks which no other man could fill. 

On the morning of the 3d the battle was furiously renewed. Gen- 
eral Sedgwidi, attempting to reinforce Hooker from Fredericksburg, was 



THE WORK OF '63. 



519 



defeated and driven across the Rappahannock. The main army was 
crowded between Chancellorsville and the river, where it remained in the 
utmost peril until the evening of the 5th, when General Hooker succeeded 
in withdrawing his forces to the northern bank. The Union losses in 
these terrible battles amounted in killed, wounded and prisoners to about 
seventeen thousand ; that of the Confederates was less by five thousand. 
Taken altogether, the campaign Avas the most disastrous of any in wdiich 
the Federal army had yet been engaged. 

The defeat of General Hooker was to some extent mitigated by the 
successful cavalry raid of General Stoneman. On the 29th of April he 
crossed the Rappahannock with a body of ten thousand men, tore up the 
Virginia Central Railroad, dashed on to the Chickahominy, cut General 
Lee's communications, 
swept around Avithin 
a few miles of Rich- 
mond, and on the 8th 
of May recrossed the 
Rappahannock in 
safety. At the same 
time. General Peck, 
the Federal command- 
ant of Suffolk, on the 
Nansemond, was suc- 
cessfully Resisting a 
siege conducted by 
General Longstreet. 
The Confederates re- 
treated from before the 
town on the very day ^ii,-^ 
of the Union disaster 
at Chancellorsville. 

Elated with his 
success on the Rappa- 
hannock, General Lee 
determined to carry 
the war into INIary- 
land and Pennsylvania 




STONEWALL. JACKSON.* 



In the first week of June he moved forward 

*The true name of this remarkable man was Thomas Jonathan Jackson. In the "be- 
ginning of the battle of Bull Run, when the Confederates in one part of the field were 
routed and flying, General Bee, pointing to an immovable column of men, cried out, 
"Here is Jackson, standing like a stone ivall!" From that day the man at the head of 
that column was called Stonewall Jackson. 



520 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



with his whole army, crossed the Potomac, and captured Hagerstown. 
On the 22d of June the invaders entered Chambersburg, and then 
pressed on through Carlisle to within a few miles of Harrisburg. 
The militia of Pennsylvania was called out, and volunteers came 
pouring in from other States. General Hooker, at the head of the 
Army of the Potomac, pushed forward to strike his antagonist. It 

was evident that 
a great and deci- 
sive battle was at 
h and. General 
Lee, abandoning 
his purpose of 
invasion, rapidly 
concentrated his 
forces near Get- 
tysburg, the cap- 
ital of Adams 
County, Penn- 
sylvania. On the 
very eve of bat- 
tle the command 
of the Union ar- 
my was transfer- 
red from General 
Hooker to Gen- 
eral George G. 
Meade, who has- 
tily advanced his 
forces through 
the hill -country 
in the direction 
of Gettysburg. 
After more than 

two years of indecisive warfare it seemed that the fate of the Amer- 
ican Republic was to be staked on the issue of a single battle. On 
the morning of the 1st of July the Union advance, led by Generals 
Reynolds and Buford, while moving westward from Gettysburg, en- 
countered the Confederate division of General Hill, coming up on the 
road from Hagerstown; and the struggle began. In the afternoon 
strong reinforcements were received and a severe battle was fought 
for the possession of Seminary Ridge. In this initial conflict the 




BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, JULY 1, 2, 3, 1SC3. 



THE WORK OF '63. 521 

Confederates were victorious, driving the Union line from its posi- 
tion, through the vilkige, and back to the high grounds southward. 
Here at nightfall a stand was made, and a new battle-line was formed 
reaching from an eminence called Round Top, where the left wing 
resied, around the crest of the ridges to Cemetery Hill, where the 
center was posted, and thence to Wolf Hill on Rock Creek. To 
this position, well-chosen and strong, the whole Union army, ex- 
cept Sedgwick's corps, was hurried forward during the night. The 
Confederate forces were all brought into position on Seminary Ridge 
and the high grounds to the left of Rock Creek, forming a semi- 
circle about five miles long. The cavalry of both armies hung upon 
the flanks, doing effective service but hardly participating in the 
main conflict of the center. 

On the morning of July 2d, the corps of General Longstreet on 
the Confederate right moved forward impetuously and attacked the 
Union left under Sickles. The struggle in this part of the field Avas 
for the possession of Great and Little Round Top; and after terrible 
fighting, which lasted until six o'clock in the evening, these strong 
positions remained in the hands of the Federals. In the center a 
similar conflict, lasting for the greater part of the day, ensued for the 
possession of Cemetery Hill. Here, too, notwithstanding the desper- 
ate assaults of the Confederates, the integrity of the National line was 
preserved till nightfall. On the right the Confederate onset was more 
successful,- and the Union right under General Slocum was somewhat 
shattered. But at ten o'clock at night, when the fighting ceased, it 
was found that the position of the two armies had not been materially 
changed by a conflict which had left forty thousand dead and wounded 
men on the field of battle. 

Under cover of the darkness both generals made arrangements 
to renew the struggle on the morrow, but when morning came both 
were loath to begin. For each felt that this day's action must be de- 
cisive. General Meade had some advantage in the fact that Lee, in 
in order to continue his invasion, must carry the Union position or 
retreat. The whole forenoon of the 3d was spent in preparations. 
At midday there was a lull. Then burst forth the fiercest cannonade 
ever known on the American continent. Until after two o'clock the 
hills were shaken with the thunders of more than two hundred heavy 
guns. The Confederate artillerymen concentrated their fire on the 
Union center at Cemetery Hill which became a scene of indescribable 
uproar and death. Then came the crisis. The cannonade ceased. 
A Confederate column, nearly three miles long, headed by the Vir- 



522 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

ginians under General Pickett, made a final and desperate charge on 
the Union centre. But the onset Avas in vain, and the brave men who 
made it were mowed down with terrible slaughter. The victory remained 
with the national army, and Lee was obliged to turn back Avith his shat- 
tered lesions to the Potomac. The entire Confederate loss in this the 
greatest battle of the war was nearly thirty thousand ; that of the Fede- 
rals in killed, wounded and missing, twenty-three thousand a hundred 
and eighty-six. General Lee withdrew his forces into Virginia, and the 
Union army resumed its old position on the Potomac and the Rappahan- 
nock. Such were the more important military movements of 1863. 

During this year the administration of President Lincoln was beset 
with many difficulties. Tlie war-debt of the nation was piling up moun- 
tains high. The last calls for volunteers had not been fully met. The 
anti-war party of the North had grown more bold, and openly denounced 
the measures of the government. On the 3d of March the Conscrip- 
tion Act was passed by Congress, and two months afterward the Presi- 
dent ordered a general draft of three hundred thousand men. All able- 
bodied citizens between the ages of twenty and forty-five years were 
subject to the requisition. The measure was bitterly denounced by the 
opponents of the \var, and in many places the draft-officers were forcibly 
resisted. On the 13th of July, in the city of New York, a vast mob rose 
in arms, demolished the buildings which were occupied by the provost 
marshals, burned the colored orphan asylum, attacked the police, and 
killed about a hundred people, most of whom were negroes. For three 
days the authorities of the city were set at defiance. On the second 
day of the reign of terror Governor Seymour arrived and addressed 
the mob in a mild-mannered way, promising that the draft should be 
suspended, and advising the rioters to disperse ; but they gave little 
heed to his mellow admonition, and went on with the work of de- 
struction. General Wool, commander of the military district of New 
York, then took the matter in hand ; but the troops at his disposal 
were at first unable to overawe the insurgents. Some volunteer regi- 
ments, however, came trooping home from Gettysburg ; the Metropol- 
itan police companies were compactly organized ; and the combined 
forces soon crushed the insurrection with a strong hand. After the 
fall of Vicksburg and the retreat of Lee from Pennsylvania, there 
were fewer acts of domestic violence. Nevertheless, the anti-war 
spirit in some parts of the North ran so high that on the 19th of 
August President Lincoln issued a proclamation suspending the priv- 
ileges of the writ of habeas corpus throughout the Union. 

As a means of procuring soldiers the draft amounted to nothing ; 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 523 

only about fifty thousand men were thus directly obtained. But volun- 
teering was greatly quickened by the measure, and the employment of 
substitutes soon filled the ranks of the army. Such, however, were the 
terrible losses by battle and disease and the expiration of enlistments 
that in October the President issued another call for three hundred thou- 
sand men. At the same time it was provided that any delinquency in 
meeting the demand would be supplied by a draft in the following Janu- 
ary. By these active measures the columns of the Union army were made 
more powerful than ever. In the armies of the South, on the other hand, 
there were already symptoms of exhaustion, and the most rigorous con- 
scription was necessary to fill the thinned but still courageous ranks of 
the Confederacy. It was on the 20th of June in this year that West Vir- 
ginia, separated from the Old Dominion, was organized and admitted as 
the thirty-fourth State of the Union. 



CHAPTER LXVI. 

THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 



AS in the previous year, tlie military movements of 1864 began in the 
West. In the beginning of February General Sherman left Vicks- 
burg with the purpose of destroying the railroad connections of Eastern 
Mississippi. Marching toward Alabama, he reached IMeridian on the 
15th of the month. Here, where the railroad from Mobile to Corinth 
intersects the line from Vicksburg to Montgomery, the tracks Avere torn 
up for a distance of a hundred and fifty miles. Bridges were burned, 
locomotives and cars destroyed, vast quantities of cotton and corn given 
to the flames. At Meridian General Sherman expected the arrival of a 
strong force of Federal cavalry which had been sent out from ISIemphis, 
under command of General Smith. The latter advanced into INIississippi, 
but was met, a hundred miles north of Meridian, by the cavalry of For- 
rest, and driven back to Memphis. Disappointed of the expected junc- 
tion of his forces, General Sherman retraced his course to Vicksburg. 
Forrest continued his raid northward, entered Tennessee, and on the 24th 
of March captured Union City. Pressing on, he reached Paducah, Ken- 
tucky, made an assault on Fort Anderson, in the suburbs of the town, but 
was repulsed with a loss of three hundred men. Turning back into Ten- 
nessee, he came upon Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, seventy miles 
above Memphis. The place was defended by five hundred and sixty 



524 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

soldiers, about half of whom were negroes. Forrest, having gained 
the outer defences, demanded a surrender, bat was refused. He 
then ordered an assault, ancl carried the fort by storm. 

To the spring of 1864 belongs the story of the Red Eiver Expe- 
DiTiox, conducted by General Banks. The object had in view M'as the 
capture of Shreveport, the seat of the Confederate government of Louisi- 
ana. A strong land-force was to march up Red River, supported by a 
fleet of gunboats, under command of Admiral Porter. The army was 
composed of three divisions : tlie first, from Yicksburg, numbering ten 
thousand, commanded by General Smith ; the second, from Kew Orleans, 
led by General Banks in person; tlie third, from Little Rock, under com- 
mand of General Steele. In tlie beginning of March Smith's division 
moved forward to Red River, and was joined by Porter with the fleet. 
On the 14th of the same month tlie advance reached Fort do Russy, 
wliich was taken by assault. The Confederates retreated up the river to 
Alexandria, and on the 16th that city was occupied by the Federals. 
Three days after\\'ard Natchitoclics was captured ; but here the road 
turned from the river, and further co-operation between the gunboats 
and the army was impossible. Tlie flotilla proceeded up stream toward 
Shreveport, and the land-forces whirled off in a circuit to the left. 

On the 8th of April, when the advanced brigades were approach- 
ing the town of Mansfield, they were suddenly attacked by the Confede- 
rates in full force and advantageously posted. After a short and bloody 
engagement, the Federals were completely routed. The victors made a 
vigorous pursuit as far as Pleasant Hill, where they were met on the 
next day by the main body of the Union army. The battle was renewed 
with great spirit, and the Federals were barely saved from ruin by the 
hard fighting of the division of General Smith, who covered the retreat 
to the river. Kcarly three thousand men, twenty pieces of artillery and 
the supply-trains of the Federal army were lost in these disastrous bat- 
tles. With great difficulty the flotilla descended the river from the direc- 
tion of Shreveport; for the Confederates had now planted batteries on the 
banks. When the Federals had retreated as far as Alexandria, they were 
again brought to a standstill ; the river had fallen to so low a stage that 
the gunboats could not pass the rapids. The squadron was finally saved 
from its peril by the skill of Colonel Bailey of Wisconsin, who constructed 
a dam across the river, raising the water so that the vessels could be 
floated over. The whole expedition returned as rapidly as possible to 
the Mississippi. General Steele liad, in the mean time, made an advance 
from Little Rock to aid in the reduction of Shreveport ; but learning of 
the Federal defeats, he withdrew after several severe engagements. To the 



THE C LOSING CONFLICTS. 



525 



national government the Red River expedition was a source of much 
shame and mortification. General Banks was relieved of his command, 
and General Canby was appointed to succeed him. 

Oil the 2d of ]\Iarcli, 1864, General Grant was appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of all the armies of the United States. The high grade 
of lieutenant-general was revived by act of Congress, and conferred upon 
him. Ko less tlian seven hundred tliousand Union soldiers were now to 
move at his command. The first montli after his appointment was spent 
in planning the great campaigns of the year. These were two in num- 
ber. The Army of the Potomac, under command of ]\Ieade and the gen- 
eral-in-chief, was to ad- 
vance u])on Richmond, 
still defended by the 
Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, under Lee. Gen- 
eral Sherman, command- 
ing the army at Chatta- 
nooga, now numbering 
a hundred thousand men, 
was to march against 
Atlanta, which was de- 
fended by the Confed- 
erates, under General 
Johnston. To these two 
great movements all other military operations were to be subordinate. 

On the 7th of ^lay General Sherman moved forward from Chatta- 
nooga. At Dalton he was confronted by the Confederate army, sixty thou- 
sand strong. After some manoeuvring and fighting, he succeeded in turning 
Johnston's flank, and obliged him to fall back to Resaca. After two hard 
battles on the 14th and 15th of May, this place was also carried, and the 
Confederates retreated by way of Calhoun and Kingston to Dallas. 
Here, on the 28th, Johnston made a second stand, entrenched himself 
and fought, but was again outnumbered, outflanked, and comj-telled to 
fall back to Lost IMountain. From this position he was forced on the 
17th of June, after three davs of desultorv fio-htinor. The next stand of 
the Confederates was made on the Great and Little Kenesaw .Mountains. 
From this line on the 22d of June the division of General Hood made a 
fierce attack upon the Union centre, but M-as repulsed with heavy losses. 
Five days afterward General Sherman attempted to carry the Great Ken- 
esaw by storm. The assault was made with great audacity, but ended in 
a dreadful repulse and a loss of three thousand men. Sherman, undis- 




SHEliMAN'S CA.MPAIGN", 1861. 



526 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

mayed by his reverse, resumed his former tactics, outflanked his antago- 
nist, and on the 3d of July compelled him to retreat across the Chatta- 
hoochee. By the 10th of the month the whole Confederate army had 
retired within the defences of Atlanta. 

This stronghold of the Confederacy was at once besieged. Here 
were the great machine-shops, foundries, car-works and depots of supplies 
upon the possession of which so much depended. At the very beginning 
of the siege the cautious and skillful General Johnston was superseded by 
the rash but daring General J. B. Hood. It was the policy of the latter 
to fight at whatever hazard. On the 20th, 22d and 28th of July he made 
three desperate assaults on the Union lines around Atlanta, but was re- 
pulsed with dreadful losses in each engagement. It was in the beginning 
of the second of these battles that the brave General James B. McPherson, 
the pride of the Union army, was killed while reconnoitring the Con- 
federate lines. In the three conflicts the Confederates lost more men 
than Johnston had lost in all his masterly retreating and fighting between 
Chattanooga and Atlanta. For more than a month the siege was pressed 
with great vigor. At last, by an incautious movement, Hood separated 
his array ; Sherman thrust a column between the two divisions ; and the 
immediate evacuation of Atlanta followed. On the 2d of September the 
Union army marched into the captured city. Since leaving Chattanooga 
General Sherman had lost fully thirty thousand men ; and the Confederate 
losses were even greater. 

By retiring from Atlanta Hood saved his army. It was now his 
policy to strike northward into Tennessee, and thus compel Sherman to 
evacuate Georgia. But the latter had no notion of losing his vantage- 
ground ; and after following Hood north of the Chattahoochee, he turned 
back to Atlanta. The Confederate general now swept up through Northern 
Alabama, crossed the Tennessee at Florence and advanced on Nashville. 
Meanwhile, General Thomas, with the Army of the Cumberland, had 
been detached from Sherman's army at Atlanta and sent northward to 
confront Hood in Tennessee. General Schofield, who commanded the 
Federal forces in the southern part of the State, fell back before the Con- 
federates and took post at Franklin, eighteen miles south of Nashville. 
Here, on the 30th of November,' he was attacked by Hood's legions, and 
after a hard-fought battle held them in check till nightfall, when he 
escaped across the river and retreated within the defences of Nashville. 
At this place all of General Thomas's forces Avere rapidly concentrated. 
A line of entrenchments was drawn around the city on the south. Hood 
came on, confident of victory, and prepared to begin the siege by block- 
ading the Cumberland ; but before the Avork was fairly begun, General 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 



527 



Thomas, on the 15th of December, moved from his works, fell upon the 
Confederate army, and routed it with a loss, in killed, wounded and 
prisoners, of more than 
twenty-five thousand 
men. For many days 
of freezing weather 
Hood's shattered col- 
umns were pursued, 
until at last they found 
refuge in Alabama. 
The Confederate army 
was ruined, and the 
rash general mIio had 
led it to destruction 
was relieved of his 
command. 

On the 14th of 
November General 
Sherman burned At- 
lanta and began his 
famous March to 
THE Sea. His army 
of veterans numbered 
sixty thousand men. 
Believing that Hood's 
army would be de- 
stroyed in Tennessee, and knowing that no Confederate force could with- 
stand him in front, he cut his communications with the North, abandoned 
his base of supplies, and struck out boldly for the sea-coast, more than 
two hundred and fifty miles away. As had been foreseen, the Confed- 
erates could offer no successful resistance. The Union army swept on 
through Macon and Milledgeville ; reached the Ogeechee and crossed in 
safety ; captured Gibson and Waynesborough ; and on the 10th of De- 
cember arrived in the vicinity of Savannah. On i\\e 13th Fort McAllister, 
below the city, was carried by storm by the division of General Hazen. 
On the night of the 20th General Hardee, the Confederate commandant, 
escaped from Savannah with fifteen thousand men and retreated to 
Charleston. On the following morning the national advance entered, 
and on the 22d General Sherman made his headquarters in the city. On 
his march from Atlanta he had lost only five hundred and sixty-seven men. 

The month of January, 1865, was spent by the Union army at 




GENERAL, THOMAS. 



528 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Savannah. On the 1st of February General Sherman, having garri- 
soned the city, began his march against Cohimbia, the capital of South 
Carolina. To the Confederates the further progress of the invasion 
through the swamps and morasses of the State had seemed impossible. 

Now that the veteran 
legions were again 
in motion, alarm 
and terror pervaded 
the country. Gov- 
ernor Magarth had 
a 1 re a d y su mmoned 
to the field every 
white man in the 
State between the 
ages of sixteen and 
sixty; but the requi- 
sition was compar- 
atively ineffectual. 
Nevertheless, the 
Confederates formed 
a line of defence 
along the Salkhatch- 
ie and prepared to 
dispute Sherman's 
m arch northward. 
It was all in vain. 
The passages of the 
river were forced, 
and on the 11th of the month the Confederate lines of communica- 
tion between Charleston and Augusta were cut off. On the next day 
Orangeburg was taken by the Seventeenth Corps. On the 14th the 
fords and bridges of the Congaree were carried and the State road 
opened in the direction of Columbia. The several divisions pressed 
rapidly forward; bridges were thrown across the Broad and Saluda 
Rivers, and the capital lay at the mercy of the conquerors. On the 
morning of the 17th Mayor Goodwyn and a committee of the com- 
mon council came out in carriages and the city was formally sur- 
rendered . 

As soon as it became certain that Columbia must fall into the 
hands of the Federals, General Hardee, the commandant of Charles- 
ton, determined to abandon that city also, and to join Generals Beau- 




GENERAI, SHERMAN. 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 529 

regard and Johnston in North Carolina. Accordingly, on the day of 
the capture of the capital, guards were detailed to destroy all the ware- 
houses, stores of cotton, and depots of supplies in Charleston. The 
torch was applied, the flames raged, and consternation spread through- 
out the city. The great depot of the Northwestern Railway, where a 
large quantity of powder was stored, caught fire, blew up with terrific 
violence, and buried two hundred people in the ruins. Not until four 
squares in the best part of the city were laid in ashes was tlic confla- 
gration checked. During the same night General Hardee with his 
fourteen thousand troops escaped from desolate Charleston and made 
his way northward. On the morning of the 18th the news was borne 
to the National forces on James's and Morris Islands. During the 
forenoon the Stars and Stripes were again raised over Forts Sumter, 
Ripley, and Pinckney. Mayor Macbeth surrendered the city to a 
company which was sent up from Morris Island. The work of saving 
Avhatever might bo rescued from the flames was at once begun, the 
citizens and the Federal soldiers working together. By strenuous ex- 
ertions the principal arsenal was saved; a depot of rice was also pre- 
served and its contents distributed to the poor. Colonel Stewart L. 
Woodford of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh New York was 
appointed military governor; and relations, more friendly than might 
have been expected, were soon established between the soldiery and 
the citizens. 

After destroying the arsenals, machine shops, and founderies of 
Columbia General Sherman immediately renewed his march north- 
ward in the direction of Charlotte, North Carolina. The army swept 
on without opposition as far as Winnsboro, whej'e a junction was ef- 
fected with the Twentieth Corps under Slocum. Crossing the Great Pe- 
dee at Cheraw, the Union commander pressed on towards Fayetteville 
where he arrived without serious hindrance, and on the 11th of March 
took possession of the town. Three days before the campaign had 
been rendered exciting by a dashing fight between Hampton's and 
Kilpatrick's cavalry. The former officer was defending the rear of 
Hardee's column on the retreat from Charleston M'hen the latter, re- 
solving to intercept him, cut through the Confederate lines. But 
early the next morning Kilpa trick was surprised in his quarters, at- 
tacked, and routed, himself barely escaping on foot into a swamp. 
Here, however, he suddenly rallied his forces, turned on the Confed- 
erates and scattered them in a brilliant charge. Hampton, not less 
resolute than his antagonist, now made a rally and returned to the 
onset. But Kilpatrick held his ground until he was reinforced by & 

34 



530 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

division of the Twentieth Corps under General Mitchell, when the 
Confederates were finally driven back. The Union cavalry then pro- 
ceeded without further molestation to Fayette ville where Sherman's 
forces were concentrated on the lltli of March. 

General Johnston had now been recalled to the command of the 
Confederate forces, and the advance of the Union forces began to be 
seriously opposed. At Averasborough, on Cape Fear River, a short 
distance north of Fayetteville, General Hardee made a stand, but was 
repulsed with considerable loss. When, on the 19th of March, Gen- 
eral Sherman was incautiously approaching Bentonsville, he was sud- 
denly attacked by the ever-vigilant Johnston, and for a while the 
Union army, after all its marches and victories, was in danger of des- 
truction. But the tremendous fighting of General Jefferson C. Davis's 
division saved the day, and on the 21st Sherman entered Goldsborough 
unopposed. Here he was reinforced by a strong column from New- 
bern under General Schofield, and another from Wilmington com- 
manded by General Terry. The Federal army now turned to the 
north-west, and on the loth of April entered Raleigh. This was the 
end of the great march ; and here, thirteen days after his arrival. Gen- 
eral Sherman received the surrender of Johnston's army. 

While these great and decisive events were taking place in the 
Carolinas, the famous cavalry raid of General Stoneman was in pro- 
gress. About the middle of March he set out from Knoxville with a 
force of six thousand men, crossed the mountains, captured Wilkes- 
boro, and forced his way across the Yadkin at Jonesville. It had 
been the original purpose of the raid that Stoneman should make a 
diversion in favor of Sherman by striking into the western districts 
of South Carolina ; but that commander, by the celerity of his move- 
ments, had already reached Goldsboro in the North State, and was in 
no need of help. Stoneman's movement therefore became an inde- 
pendent expedition, the general object being the destruction of public 
property, the capture of Confederate stores, and the tearing up of 
railroads. Turning to the north, the troopers travei'sed the western 
end of North Carolina and entered Carroll county, Virginia. At 
Wytheville the railroad was torn up, and then the whole line was de- 
stroyed from the bridge over New River to within four miles of Lynch- 
burg. Christiansburg was captured and the track of the railway ob- 
literated for ninety miles. Turning first to Jacksonville and then 
southward, the expedition next struck and destroyed the North Caro- 
lina Railroad between Danville and Greensboro. The track in the 
direction of Salisbury was also torn up, and the factories at Salem 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 



531 



burned. The Union prisoners at Salisbury were removed by the 
Confederates in time to prevent their liberation ; but the town was 
captured and a vast store of ammunition, arms, provision, clothing, and 
cotton fell into the hands of the raiders. Finally, on the 19th of April, 
a division under Major Moderwell reached the great bridge where the 
South Carolina Rail- 
road crosses the Ca- 
tawba River. This 
magnificent struct- 
ure, eleven hundred 
and fifty feet in 
length, was set on 
fire and completely 
destroyed. After a 
fight with F e r g u - 
son's Confederate 
cavalry, the Feder- 
als turned back to 
Dallas, where all the 
divisions were con- 
centrated, — and the 
raid was at an end. 
During the progress 
of the expedition 
six thousand prison- 
ers, forty-si x pieces 
of artillery, and im- 
mense quantities of^ 

small arms had fallen into the hands of Stoneman's men : the amount 
of property destroyed and the damage otherwise done to the tottering 
Confederacy could not be estimated. 

Meanwhile, events of even greater importance had occurred on 
the gulf and the Atlantic coast. In the beginning of August, 1864, 
Admiral Farragut bore down with a powerful squadron upon the de- 
fences of Mobile. The entrance to the harbor of this city was com- 
manded on the left by Fort Gaines, and on the right by Fort Morgan. 
The harbor itself was defended by a Confederate fleet and the monster 
iron-clad ram Tennessee. On the 5th of August Farragut prepared 
for battle and ran past the forts into the harbor. In order to direct 
the movements of his vessels, the brave old admiral mounted to the 
maintop of his flag-ship, the Hartford, lashed himself to the rigging, 




ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 



532 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

and from that high perch gave his commands during the battle. One 
of the Union ships struck a torpedo and went to the bottom. The 
rest attacked and dispersed the Confederate squadron ; but just as the 
bay seemed won the terrible Tennessee came down at full speed to 
strike and sink the Hartford. The latter avoided the blow ; and then 
followed one of the fiercest conflicts of the war. The Union iron-clads 
closed around their black antagonist and battered her with their beaks 
and fifteen-inch bolts of iron until she surrendered. Two days after- 
ward Fort Gaines was taken ; and on the 23d of the month Fort 
Morgan was obliged to capitulate. The port of Mobile was effectually 
sealed up. 

Not less important to the Union cause was the capture of Fort 
Fisher. This powerful fortress commanded the entrance to Cape Fear 
River and AVilmington — the last sea-port held by the Confederated. In 
December Admiral Porter was sent with the most powerful American 
squadron ever afloat to besiege and take the fort. General Butler, with 
a land-force of six thousand five hundred men, accompanied the expedi- 
tion. On the 24th of the month the bombardment began, and the troops 
were sent ashore with orders to carry the works by storm. When Gen- 
eral Weitzel, who led the column, came near enough to the fort to recon- 
noitre, he decided that an assault could only end witli the destruction of 
his army. General Butler held the same opinion, and the enterprise was 
abandoned. Admiral Porter remained before Fort Fisher Avith his fleet, 
and General Butler returned with the land-forces to Fortress Monroe. 
Early in January the same troops were sent back to "Wilmington, under 
command of General Terry. The siege was at once renewed by the army 
and the fleet, and on the 15th of the month Fort Fisher was taken by 
storm. 

In the previous October the control of Albemarle Sound had been 
secured by a daring exploit of Lieutenant Gushing of the Federal navy. 
These waters were commanded by a tremendous iron ram called the Albe- 
marle. In order to destroy the dreaded vessel a number of daring volun- 
teers, led by Gushing, embarked in a small steamer, and on the night of 
the 27th of October entered the Roanoke. The ram was discovered lying 
at the harbor of Plymouth. Cautiously approaching, the lieutenant with 
his own hands sank a terrible torpedo under the Confederate ship, ex- 
ploded it, and left the ram a ruin. The adventure cost the lives or cap- 
ture of all of Cushing's party except himself and one other, who escaped. 
A few days afterward the town of Plymouth M-as taken by the Federals. 

During the progress of the war the commerce of the United States 
had suffered dreadfully from the attacks of Confederate cruisers. As 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 533 

early as 1861 the Southern Congress had granted commissions to priva- 
teers ; but neutral nations would not allow such vessels to bring prizes 
into their ports, and the Privateering Act was of little direct benefit to 
the Confederacy. But the commerce of the United States was greatly 
injured. The first Confederate ship sent out was the Savannah, which 
was captured on the same day that she escaped from Charleston. In June 
of 1861 the Sumter, commanded by Captain Semmes, ran the blockade at 
New Orleans, and for seven months did fearful work with the Union 
merchantmen. But in February of 1862 Semmes was chased into the 
harbor of Gibraltar, where he was obliged to sell his vessel and discharge 
his crew. In the previous October the Nashville ran out from Charles- 
ton, went to England, and returned with a cargo worth three millions of 
dollars. In March of 1863 she was sunk by a Union iron-clad in the 
raoiith of the Savannah River. 

The ports of the Southern States were now so closely blockaded 
that war-vessels could no longer be sent abroad. In this emergency the 
Confederates turned to the ship-yards of Great Britain, and from that 
vantage-ground began to build and equip their cruisers. In spite of the 
remonstrances of the United States, the British government connived at 
this proceeding ; and here was laid the foundation of a difficulty which 
afterward cost the treasury of England fifteen millions of dollars. In the 
harbor of Liverpool the Florida was fitted out ; and going to sea in the 
summer of 1862, she succeeded in running into INIobile Bay. Escaping 
in the following January, she destroyed fifteen merchantmen, was cap- 
tured in the harbor of Bahia, Brazil, and brought into Hampton Roads, 
where an accidental collision sent her to tlie bottom. The Georgia, the 
Olustee, the Shenandoah and the Oiichamauga, all built at the ship-yards 
of Glasgow, Scotland, escaped to sea and made great havoc with the mer- 
chant-ships of the United States. At the capture of Fort Fisher the 
Chiekamanga and another cruiser called the Tallahassee were blown up 
by the Confederates. The Georgia was captured in 1863, and the Shen- 
andoah continued abroad until the close of the war. 

ISIost destructive of all the Confederate vessels was the famous 
AlaJbama, built at Liverpool. Her commander was Captain Raphael 
Semmes, the same who had cruised in the Sumter. A majority of the 
crew of the Alabama were British subjects ; her armament was entirely 
British; and whenever occasion required, the British flag was carried. 
In her whole career, involving the destruction of sixty-six vessels and a 
loss of ten million dollars to the merchant service of the United States^ 
she never entered a Confederate port, but continued abroad, capturing 
and burning. Early in the summer of 1864 Semmes entered the harbor 



534 EISTOLY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of Cherbourg, France, and was there discovered by Captain Winslow, 
commander of the steamer Kearsargc. The French government gave 
the Confederate captain orders to leave the port, and on the 19th of 
June he went out to give his antagonist battle. Seven miles from 
the shore the two ships closed for the death-struggle; and after a 
desperate battle of an hour's duration, the Alabama was shattered 
and sunk. Scmmes and a part of his officers and crew were picked 
up by the English yacht Dcerhound and carried to Southampton. 

After the great battle of Gettysburg, the Confederate army under 
General Lee was withdrawn into the Shenandoah valley. The Union 
cavalry, led by General Gregg, pressed after him and at Shepherds- 
town gained some advantage over the division of Fitzhugh Lee. 
Meade himself, at the head of the Army of the Potomac, entered Vir- 
ginia near Berlin and moved southward through Lovettsville to War- 
renton. The Blue Ridge was again interposed between the two armies. 
It was the policy of the Union commander to preoccupy and hold the 
passes of the mountains and to strike his antagonist a fatal blow when 
he should attempt to return to Richmond. But Lee's movements 
were marked with liis usual caution and sagacity. Making a feint of 
crowding his army through Manassas Gap, he succeeded in drawing 
thither the bulk of the Federal forces, and then by a rapid march 
southward gained Front Royal and Chester Gap, swept through the 
pass, and reached Culpepper in safety. General Meade, disappointed 
in his expectations of a battle, advanced his army and took up a po- 
sition on the Rappahannock. 

In the lull that ensued from July till September of 1863, both 
generals were much weakened by the withdrawal of large numbers of 
their troops to take part in the struggles of the Southwest. From 
Lee's army Longstreet's whole corps had been detached for the aid of 
Bragg who was hard pressed by Rosecrans, in Tennessee. General 
Meade, learning of the weakened condition of his foe, crossed the 
Rappahannock, pressed him back to the south bank of the Rapidan 
and himself occuoied Culpepper. Soon, however, Howard's and Slo- 
cum's corps were withdrawn from the Army of the Potomac, and 
Meade was in turn obliged to act on the defensive. But his ranks 
were soon filled with reinforcements and the middle of October found 
him planning a forward movement. Lee, however, had already as- 
sumed the offensive and by skillful manoeuvers had again thrown his 
army on the Union flank. Then began the old race for the Potomac, 
and in that the Federals were successful, reaching Bristow Station and 
taking up a strong position on the Heights of Centreville. Lee in 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 



535 



turn fell back and the two great armies at last came to rest for the 
winter, the one at Culpepper and the other on the Upper Rappahan- 
nock. 

In the following spring no movements of importance occurred 
until the beginning of the campaign of the Army of the Potomac, 

now commanded by Generals 

Grant and Meade ; and this, 
"which may well be consider- 
ed as one of the great cam- 
paigns of history, has been 
reserved for the closing nar- 
rative of the war. On the 
night of the 3d of May, 1864, 
the national camp at Culpep- 
per was broken up, and the 
march on Richmond was 
begun. In three successive 
summers the Union army 
had been beaten back from 
that metropolis of the Confed- 
eracy. Now a hundred and 
forty thousand men, led by 
the lieutenant-general, were 
to beo'in the final struggle 
with the veterans of Lee. 
On the first day of the ad- 
vance Grant crossed the Rap- 
idan and entered the Wilder- 
ness, a country of oak woods and thickets west of Chancellorsville. 
He was immediately confronted and attacked by the Confederate 
army. During the 5th, 6th and 7th of the month the fighting con- 
tinued incessantly with terrible losses on both sides; but the results 
were indecisive. Lee retired within his intrenchments, and Grant 
made a flank movement on the left in the direction of Spottsylvania 
Court-house. Here followed, from the morning of the 9th till the 
night of the 12th, one of the bloodiest struggles of the war. The 
Federals gained some ground and captured the division of General 
Stewart ; but the losses of Lee, who fought on the defensive, were less 
dreadful than those of his antagonist. 

After the battle of Spottsylvania, Grant again moved to the left, 
crossed the Pamunkey to Hanovertown, and came to a place called 




OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA, '64, AND '65. 



536 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Cold Harbor, twelve miles north-east of Richmond. Here, on the 1st 
of June, he attacked the Confederates, strongly posted, but was re- 
pulsed with heavy losses. On the morning of the 3d the assault was 
renewed, and in the brief space of half an hour nearly ten thousand 
Union soldiers fell dead or wounded before the Confederate entrench- 
ments. The repulse of the Federals was complete, but they held their 
lines as firmly as ever. Since the beginning of the campaign the 
losses of the Army of the Potomac, including the corps of Burnside, 
had reached the enormous aggregate of sixty thousand. During the 
same period the Confederates had lost in killed, wounded and pris- 
oners about thirty-five thousand men. 

General Grant now changed his base to James River with a view 
to the capture of Petersburg and the conquest of Richmond from the 
south-east. General Butler had already moved with a strong division 
from Fortress Monroe, and on the 5th of May had taken Bermuda Hun- 
dred and City Point, at the mouth of the Appomattox. Advancing 
against Petersburg, he was met on the IGth by the corps of General 
Beauregard and driven back to his position at Bermuda Hundred, where 
he was obliged to entrench himself and act on the defensive. Here, on 
the 15th of June, he was joined by General Grant's Avhole army, and the 
combined forces moved against Petersburg. On the 17th and 18th sev- 
eral assaults were made on the Confederate entrenchments, but the works 
could not be carried. Lee's army was hurried within the defences, and 
in the latter part of June Petersburg was regularly besieged. 

Meanwhile, movements of great importance were taking j^lacc in 
the Shenandoah valley. When General Grant moved forward from the 
Rapidan, he sent General Sigel up the valley with a force of eight thou- 
sand men. While the latter was advancing southward he Avas met at 
New Market, fifty miles above Winchester, by an army of Confederate 
cavalry, under General Breckinridge. On the 15th of May Sigel was 
attacked and routed, and the command of his flying forces was transferred 
to General Hunter. Deeming the valley clearetl, Breckinridge returned 
to Richmond, whereupon Hunter faced about, marched toward Lynchburg, 
came upon the Confederates at Piedmont, and gained a signal victory. 
From this place he advanced with his own forces and the cavalry troops 
of General Averill against Lynchburg ; but finding that he had run into 
peril, he was obliged to retreat across the mountains into West Virginia. 
By this movement the valley of the Shenandoah was again exposed to an 
invasion by the Confederates. 

In the hope of compelling Grant to raise the siege of Petersburg, 
Lee immediately despatched General Early with orders to cross the Blue 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 537 

Ridge, SAveep down tlie valley, invade Maryland and threaten Washing- 
ton city. With a force of twenty thousand men Early began his move- 
ment northward, and on the 5th of July crossed the Potomac. On the 
9th he met the division of General Wallace on the Monocacy, and de- 
feated him with serious losses. But the check given to the Confederates 
by the battle saved AYashington and Baltimore from capture. After 
dashing up within gunshot of these cities, Early ordered a retreat, and 
on the 12th his forces recrossed the Potomac with vast quantities of 
plunder. 

General Wright, who was sent in pursuit of Early's army, fol- 
lowed him as far as Winchester, and tliere, on the 24tli of July, defeated 
a portion of his forces. But Early wheeled upon his antagonist, and the 
Union trooi)S were in turn driven across the Potomac. Following up his 
advantage, the Confederate general next invaded Pennsylvania, burned 
Cliambersburg, and returned into the valley laden with spoils. Seeing 
the necessity of putting an end to these devastating raids. General Grant 
in the beginning of August appointed General Philip H. Sheridan to the 
command of the consolidated army on the Upper Potomac. The troops 
thus jJaced at Sheridan's disposal numbered nearly forty thousand, and 
with these he at once moved up the valley. On the 19th of September 
he came upon Early's army at Winchester, attacked and routed him in a 
hard-fought battle. On the 22d he overtook the defeated army at Fish- 
er's Hill, assaulted Early in his entrenchments, and gained another com- 
plete victory. 

In accordance \vith orders given by the commander-in-chief, Sher- 
idan now turned about to ravage the valley. The ruinous work was fear- 
fully well done; and what M'ith torch and axe and sword, there was noth- 
ing left between the Blue Bidge and the Alleghanies worth fighting for. 
Maddened by this destruction and stung by his defeats, the veteran Early 
rallied his shattered forces, gathered reinforcements, and again entered 
the valley. Sheridan had posted his army in a strong position on Cedar 
Creek, a short distance from Strasburg, and feeling secure, had gone to 
Washington. On the morning of the 19th of October Early cautiously 
approached the Union camp, surprised it, burst in, carried the position, 
captured the artillery, and sent the routed troops flying in confusion to- 
ward Winchester. The Confederates pursued as far as Middletown, and 
there, believing the victory complete, paused to eat and rest. On the 
previous night Sheridan had returned to Winchester, and was now com- 
ing to rejoin his army. On his way he heard the sound of battle, rode 
twelve miles at full speed, met the panic-struck fugitives, rallied them 
with a word, turned upon the astonished Confederates, and gained one 



538 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

of the most signal victories of the war. Early's army was disorganized 
and ruined. Such was the end of the strife in the valley of the Shenan- 
doah. 

All fall and winter long, General Grant pressed the siege of Peters- 
burg with varying success. On the 30th of July a mine was exploded 
under one of the forts. An assaulting colunni sprang forward to carry 
the Avorks, gained some of the defences, but was finally repulsed with 
heavy losses. On the 18th of August a division of the Union army 
seized the Weldon Railroad and held it against several desperate assaults, 
in which each army lost thousands of men. On the 28th of September 
Battery Harrison, on the right bank of the James, was stormed by the 
Federals, and on the next day General Paine's brigade of colored soldiers 
carried a powerful redoubt on Spring Hill. On the 27th of October 
there was a hard-fought battle on the Boydton road, soutli of Petersburg ; 
and then the army went into quarters for the winter. 

Late in February the struggle began anew. On the 27th of the 
month General Sheridan, who had moved from the Shenandoah, gained a 
victory over the forces of General Early at Waynesborough, and then joined 
the commander-in-chief at Petersburg. On the 1st of April a severe 
battle was fought at Five Forks, on the Southside Railroad, in which the 
Confederates were defeated with a loss of six thousand prisoners. On 
the next day Grant ordered a general assault on the lines of Petersburg, 
and the works were carried. On that night the army of General Lee and 
the members of the Confederate government fled from Richmond ; and on 
the following morning that city, as well as Petersburg, was entered by the 
Federal army. The warehouses of the ill-fated Confederate capital "were 
fired by the retreating soldiers, and the better part of the city was reduced 
to ruins. 

The strife lasted but a few days longer. General Lee retreated 
as rapidly as possible to the south-west, hoping to join the army of 
General Johnston from Carolina. The Confederates, flying from Pe- 
tersburg, joined those on the retreat from Richmond at Amelia Court 
House. To this place General Lee had ordered his supply-trains; 
but the officer having the same in charge, had foolishly mistaken his 
orders and driven the train on in the direction of Danville. Nearly one- 
half of the Confederate army, now growing hopeless, had to be dis- 
persed to gather supplies by foraging. The 4th and 5th of April — 
days precious to the sinking heart of Lee — were consumed with the 
delay. The victorious Federals were pressing on in full pursuit; and 
on the morning of the 6th nearly the whole Union army was at Jet- 
tersville, on the Danville railroad, ready to strike the Confederates at 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 



539 



Amelia. Sheridan pressed on by the left flank in the direction of 
Deatonsville. Ord came up with his division by way of the South 
Side Railroad to Burke's Station. Lee fell back to the west from 
Amelia Court House and reached Deatonsville where a severe battle 
was fought, in which Ewell's division six thousand strong was over- 
whelmed and captured by Sheridan. The main army of the Confed- 
erates, however, gained tlie Appomattox at Farmville, crossed to the 
northern bank, and burned the bridges. Lee now endeavored to in- 
terpose the river as a barrier between himself and his relentless pur- 
suers ; but it was all in vain. Hoping against hope, he made a des- 




PETERSBUUG, RICHMOND, APPOMATTOX, 1865. 

perate effort to hold the liue of the Lynchburg Railroad, but the vig- 
ilant Sheridan was there before him. On the 7th of April a slight 
success in battle gave a momentary encouragement to the exhausted 
army ; but the flame of hope Avas blown out as soon as kindled. On 
that day General Grant, now at Farmville, addressed a note to the 
Confederate commander expressing a desire that the further eff'usion 
of blood might be saved by the surrender of the Confederate army. 
To this General Lee replied by declaring his desire for peace but add- 
ing that the occasion for the surrender of the Army of Northern 
Virginia had not arrived. On the morning of the 9th, however, 
when it became known that the left wing of the Union army had se- 
cured the line of the Lynchburg Railroad — when the wreck of Long- 
street's veterans, attempting to continue the retreat, were confronted 
and driven back by Sheridan — then the iron-souled Confederate leader, 
seeing the utter uselessness of a further struggle, sent General Grant 
a note asking for a meeting preliminary to a surrender. The Union 
commander immediately complied with the request. At two o'clock 
in the afternoon of Palm Sunday, the 9th of April, 1865j the two 



540 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

great generals met each other in the parlor of William McLean at 
Appomattox Court House. There the terms of surrender were dis- 
cussed and settled. It was agreed that General Grant should put his 
proposition in the form of a military note to which General Lee 
should return a formal answer. The Union commander accordingly 
drew up and presented the following memorandum : 

Appomattox Court House, Va., April 9, 1865. 
General: In accordance vith the substance of my letter to you of tlie 8th inst- 
ant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on the fol- 
lowing terms, to-wit : Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate; one 
copy to be given to an officer to be designated by me, the other to be retained by such 
other officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual 
paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly 
exchanged; and each company or regimental commander to sign a like parole for the 
men of their commands. Tlie arms, artillery, and public property, to be parked, and 
stacked, and turned over to the officers appointed by me to receive them. This will not 
embrace the side-arms of the officers nor their private horses or baggage. This done, 
each officer and man will be allowed to return to his home, not to be disturbed by 
United States authority .so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force 

■where they reside. ^.t-, . ivTm t- . .^ 7 

U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant- General. 

To this memorandum General Lee responded as follows: 

Head-Quarters, Army of Northern Virginia, April 9, 1865. 
General: I received your letter of this date, containing the terms of the surren- 
der of the Army of Northern Virginia, as proposed by you. As they are substantially 
the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I 
will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect. 

R. E. LEE, General. 

Thus the work was done ! How the army of General Johnston 
was surrendered at Raleigh a few days later has already been nar- 
rated. After four dreadful years of bloodshed, devastation, and sorrow, 
THE Civil War in the United States was at an end. 

The Federal authority was rapidly extended over the Southern 
States. After the surrender of Lee and Johnston, there was no farther 
hope of reorganizing the Confederacy. Mr. Davis and his cabinet escaped 
to Danville, and there for a few days kept up the forms of government. 
From that place they fled into North Carolina and were scattered. The 
ex-President with a few friends continued his flight through South Caro- 
lina into Georgia, and encamped near the village of Irwinsville, where, on 
the 10th of May, he was captured by General Wilson's cavalry. He was 
conveyed as a prisoner to Fortress Monroe, and kept in confinement until 
May of 1867, when he was taken to Richmond to be tried on a charge of 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 541 

treason. He was admitted to bail ; and his cause, after remaining untried 
for a year and a half, was finally dismissed. 

At the presidential election in the autumn preceding the downfall 
of the Confederacy, Mr. Lincoln was chosen for a second term. As Vice- 
President, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee was elected in place of Mr. 
Hamlin. The opposing candidates, supported by the Democratic party, 
were General George B. McClellan and George H. Pendleton of Ohio. 
Mr. Lincoln's majority was very heav'y. General McClellan carrying only 
the States of Kentucky and Delaware. In the summer preceding the 
election the people of Nevada framed a constitution, in accordance with 
an act of Congress, and on the 31st of October the new commonwealth 
was proclaimed as the thirty-sixth State of the Union. The gold and 
silver mines of Nevada were developed w ith such rapidity that they soon 
surpassed those of California in their yield of the precious metals. 

At the outbreak of the civil war the financial credit of the United 
States had sunk to a very low ebb. By the organization of the army and 
navy the expenses of the government were at once swelled to an enormous 
aggregate. The price of gold and silver advanced so rapidly that the 
redemption of bank-notes in coin soon became impossible; and on the 
30th of December, 1861, the banks of New York, and afterward those of 
the whole country, suspended specie payments. JMr. Chase, the secretary 
of the treasury, first sought relief by issuing Treasury Notes, receivable 
as money and bearing seven and three-tenths per cent, interest. This 
expedient was temporarily successful, but by the beginning of 1862 the 
expenses of the government had risen to more than a million of dollars 
dailv. 

To meet these tremendous demands other measures had to be 
adopted. Congress accordingly made haste to provide an Internal 
Bevexue. This was made up from two general sources : first, a tax on 
manufactures, incomes and salaries; second, a stamp-duty on all legal 
documents. The next measure was the issuance by the treasury of a 
hundred and fifty millons of dollars in non-interest-bearing Legal. 
Tender Notes of the United States, to be used as money. These are 
the notes called Grecnbacl:s. The third great measure adopted by the 
government was the sale of United States Bonds. These were made 
redeemable at any time after five and under twenty years from date, and 
were from that fact called Five-Twenties. The interest upon them was 
fixed at six per cent., payable semi-annually in gold. Another important 
series of bonds, called Ten-Forties, was afterward issued, being redeem- 
able by the government at any time between ten and forty years from 
date. In the next place, Congress passed an act providing for the estab- 



542 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

lishment of National Banks. The private banks of the country had 
been obliged to susj^end operations, and the people were greatly distressed 
for want of money. To meet this demand it was provided that new 
banks might be established, using national bonds, instead of gold and 
silver, as a basis of their circulation. The currency of these banks was 
furnished and the redemption of the same guaranteed by the treasury of 
the United States. By these measures the means for prosecuting the war 
were provided. At the end of the conflict the national debt had reached 
the astounding sum of nearly three thousand millions of dollars. 

On the 4th of March, 1865, President Lincoln w^as inaugurated for 
his second term. A month afterward the military power of the Confed- 
eracy was broken. Three days after the evacuation of Richmond by Lee's 
army the President visited that city, conferred with the authorities, and then 
returned to Washington. On the evening of the 14th of April he attended 
Ford's theatre with his wife and a party of friends. As the play drew near 
its close a disreputable actor, named John Wilkes Booth, stole unnoticed 
into the President's box, leveled a pistol at his head, and shot him through 
the brain. Mr. Lincoln fell forward in his seat, Avas borne from the 
building, lingered in an unconscious state until the following morning, and 
died. It was the greatest tragedy of modern times — the most wicked^ 
atrocious and diabolical murder known in American history. The assassin 
leaped out of the box upon the stage, escaped into the darkness, and fled. 
At the same hour another murderer, named Lewis Payne Powell, burst 
into the bed-chamber of Secretary Seward, sprang upon the couch of the 
sick man, stabbed him nigh unto death, and made his escape into the 
night. The city was wild with alarm and excitement. It was clear that 
a plot had been made to assassinate the leading members of the govern- 
ment. Trooj>s of cavalry and the police of Washington departed in all 
directions to hunt down the consjiirators. On the 26th of April Booth 
was found concealed in a barn south of Fredericksburg. Refusing to 
surrender, he w^as shot by Sei'geant Boston Corbett, and then dragged 
forth from the burning building to die. Powell was caught, convicted 
and hanged. His fellow-conspirators, David E. Herrold and Geo. A. 
Atzerott, together with Mrs. Mary E. Sarratt, at whose house tlie plot 
was formed, were also condemned and executed. Michael O'Laugh- 
Hn, Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, and Samuel Arnold were sentenced to im- 
prisonment for life, and Edward Spangler for a term of six years. 

So ended in darkness, but not in shame, the career of Abraham 
Lincoln. He was one of the most remarkable men of any age or country 
— a man in whom the qualities of genius and common sense were strangely 
mingled. He was prudent, far-sighted and resolute; thoughtful, calm 



THE CLOSING CONFLICTS. 543 

and just; patient, tender-hearted and great. The manner of his 
death consecrated his memory. From city to city, in one vast funeral 
procession, the mourning people followed his remains to their last 
resting-place at Springfield. From all nations rose the voice of sym- 
pathy and shame — sympathy for his death, shame for the dark crime 
that caused it. 

He had been born a destined work to do, 
And lived to do it ; four long-suffering years — 

Ill-fate, ill-feeling, ill-report lived tlirougli — 
And then he heard the hisses change to cheers, 

The taunts to tribute, the abuse to praise 

And took them both witli his unwavering mood; 

But as he came on liglit from diirUcst days. 

And seemed to touch the goal from where he stood, 

A felon hand, between that goal and liim, 

Reached from behind iiis head, a trigger prest. 

And those perplexed and patient eyes wei'e dim. 
Those gaunt long-laboring limbs were laid to rest! 

The words of mercy were upon his lips, 

Forgiveness in his heart and on his pen, 
When this vile murderer brought swift eclipse 

To thoughts of peace on earth, good-will to men. 

The Old World and the New, from sea to sea, 

Utter one voice of sympathy and shame! 
Sore lieart, so stopped when it at last beat free. 

Sad life, cut short just as its triumph came ! 

A deed accurst ! Strokes have been struck before 

By tiie assassin's hand, whereof men doubt 
If more of horror or disgrace they bore; 

But thy foul crime, like Cain's stands darkly out! 

Vile hand ! that branded murder on a strife. 

What e'er its grounds, stoutly and nobly striven, 

And with the martyr's crown crownest a life 
With much to praise, little to be forgiven ! * 



* These verses are from the London Punch of May 6th, 1865. For years that paper 
had caricatured Mr. Lincoln and ridiculed the National government ; but now that 
the deed was done, the British heart reacted and spoke out for humanity. 



544 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

CHAPTER LXVII. 

JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION, 18G5-1869. 

ON the clay after the assassination of Mr. Lincohi, Andrew Johnson 
took the oath of office, and became President of the United States. 
He was a native of North Carolina, born in Raleigh, on the 29th of 
December, 1808. With no advantages of education, he passed his boy- 
hood in poverty and neglect. In 1826 he removed with his mother to 
Tennessee and settled at Greenville. Here he Avas married to an in- 
telligent lady who taught him to write and cipher. Here by dint of 
native talent, force of will, and strength of character, he first earned 
the applause of his fellow-men. Here, through toil and hardship, he 
rose to distinction, and after holding minor offices was elected to Con- 
gress. As a member of the United States Senate in 1860-61 he op- 
posed secession with all his zeal, even after the legislature had declared 
Tennessee out of the Union. On the 4th of March, 1862, he was ap- 
pointed military governor of that State, and entered upon his duties at 
Nashville. He began his administration and carried out his measures 
with all the vigor and vehemence of his nature. There was no quail- 
ing or spirit of compromise. His life was many times in peril; but he 
fed on danger and grew strong under the onsets of his enemies. He 
held the office of governor until 1864, when he was nominated for the 
vice-presidency in place of Mr. Hamlin. Now, by the tragic death 
of the President, he was suddenly called to assume the responsibili- 
ties of chief magistrate. In his first congressional message he fore- 
shadowed a policy of great severity towards the civil and military 
leaders of the overthrown Confederacy. 

On the 1st of February, 1865, Congress adopted an amendment to 
the Constitution by which slavery was abolished and forbidden in all the 
States and Territories of the Union. By the 18th of the following De- 
cember the amendment had been ratified by the legislatures of twenty- 
seven States, and was duly proclaimed as a part of the Constitution. The 
emancipation proclamation had been issued as a military measure ; now 
the doctrines and results of that instrument were recognized and incor- 
porated in the fundamental law of the land. 

On the 29th of May the Amnesty Proclamation was issued by 
President Johnson. By its provisions a general pardon was extended to 
all persons — except those specified in certain classes — who had participated 
in the organization and defence of the Confederacy. The condition of the 
pardon was that those receiving it should take an oath of allegiance to the 




/■ 




65' 

■■ ■ Vi..- 


SCALr 


ALASKA. 




1 J* 1.M ••*) 




^ 




JOO Longituilt 




%n k Folpr Cin. 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 545 

United States. The excepted persons might also be pardoned on 
special application to the President. During the summer of 1865 
the great armies were disbanded, and the victors and vanquished re- 
turned to their homes to resume the work of peace. 

The finances of the nation were in an alarming condition. The war- 
debt went on increasing until the beginning of 1866, and it was only by 
the most herculean exertions that national bankruptcy could be w^arded 
off. The yearly interest on the debt had grown to a hundred and thirty- 
three million dollars in gold. The expenses of the government had 
reached the aggregate of two hundred millions of dollars annually. But 
the augmented revenues of the nation proved sufficient to meet these 
enormous outlays, and at last the debt began to be slowly diminished. 
On the 5th of December, 1865, a resolution was passed in the House of 
Representatives pledging the faith of the United States to the full pay- 
ment of the national indebtedness, both principal and interest. 

During the civil war the emperor Napoleon III. interfered in the 
affairs of JNIexico, and succeeded, by overawing the people with a French 
army, in setting up an empire. In the early part of 1864 the crown of 
Mexico was conferred on INIaximilian, the archduke of Austria, who 
established his government and sustained it with French and Austrian 
soldiers. But the INIexican president Juarez headed a revolution against 
the usurping emperor; the government of the United States rebuked 
France for having violated the Monroe doctrine; Napoleon, becoming 
alarmed, withdrew his army; and INIaximilian was overthrown. Flying 
from Mexico to Queretaro, he was there besieged and taken prisoner. 
On the 13th of June, 1867, he was tried by court-martial and condemned, 
to be shot ; and six days afterward the sentence was carried into execu- 
tion. The scheme of Napoleon, who had hoped to profit by the civil war 
and gain a foothold in the New World, was thus justly brought to shame 
and contempt. 

After a few weeks of successful operation the first Atlantic telegraph, , 
laid by Mr. Field in 1858, had ceased to work. The friends of the enter- 
prise were greatly disheartened. Not so with Mr. Field, who continued 
both in Europe and America to advocate the claims of his measure and to 
plead for assistance. He made fifty voyages across the Atlantic, and 
finally secured sufficient capital to begin the laying of a second cable. 
The M'ork began from the coast of Ireland in the summer of 1865. When 
the steamer Great Eastern had proceeded more than twelve hundred miles 
on her way to America, the cable parted and was lost. JNIr. Field held on 
to his enterprise. Six millions of dollars had been spent in unsuccessful 
attempts, but still he persevered. In July of 1866 a third cable, two 
thousand miles in length, was coiled in the Great Eastern, and again the 

35 



546 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

vessel, started on her way. This time the work was completely suc- 
cessful. After twelve years of unremitting effort Mr. Field received 
a gold medal from the Congress of his country, and the plaudits of 
all civilized nations. 

By an act of Congress, passed on the 1st of November, 1864, 
THE Postal, Money-Order System was established in the United 
States. The design of the measure was to secure a safe and conven- 
ient method of transferring small sums of money through the mails. 
The money-order is divided into two parts — the order proper and the 
advice. From the order, which is received and transmitted by the 
purchaser, the name of the payee is omitted. In the advice, which is 
sent by the post-master of the issuing office to the post-master of the 
paying office, the name of the payee is inserted. The advice and the 
order receive the same stamp and number, and being transmitted sep- 
arately, constitute an almost perfect check against loss, robbery, and 
fraud. The largest sum which may be transmitted in one order is 
fifty dollars, though larger amounts may be sent in separate orders. 
The amount charged for issuing is trifling, varying with the value of 
the order, and the security is perhaps as great as human sagacity can 
provide. Notwithstanding the invaluable benefits of the system, it 
was at first received with little favor. In 1870 there were two thou- 
sand and seventy-six post-offices from which money-orders were issued. 
During that year the orders numbered a million six hundred and sev- 
enty-one thousand two hundred and fifty-three; and the amount trans- 
mitted was above thirty-four millions of dollars. On the 1st of October, 
1875, the number of money-offices in operation was three thousand six 
hundred and ninety-six; the number of orders issued during the fiscal 
year ending on tlie 30th of June amounted to five millions six thou- 
sand three hundred and twenty-three; the amount of money sent to 
more than seventy-seven millions of dollars. Of all the orders issued 
during that year only twenty-seven were paid to persons not entitled 
to receive them. Such have been the advantages of the system as to 
require its extension to foreign lands. Postal conventions have al- 
ready been held and arrangements completed for the exchange of 
money-orders with Switzerland, Great Britain and Ireland and Ger- 
many. The requirements of civilization will no doubt soon demand 
a similar compact with every enlightened nation. 

The administration of President Johnson is noted as the time when 
the Territories of the United States assumed their final form. The vast 
domains west of the Mississippi were now reduced to proper limits and 
organized with a viaw to early admission into the Union as States. A 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 547 

large part of the work was accomplished duruig the administration of 
President Lincoln. In March of 18G1 the Territory of Dakota, with an 
area of a hundred and fifty thousand square miles, was detached from 
Nebraska on the north, and given a distinct territorial organization. In 
February of 1863 Arizona, with an area of a hundred and thirteen thou- 
sand square miles, was separated from New Mexico on the west and 
organized as an independent Territory. On the 3d of March in the same 
year Idaho was organized out of portions of Dakota, Nebraska and Wash- 
ington Territories ; and on the 26th of May, 1864, Montana, with an area 
of a hundred and forty-six thousand square miles, "was cut off from the 
eastern part of Idaho. By this measure the area of the latter Territoiy 
was reduced to eighty-six thousand square miles. On the 1st of March, 
1867, the Territory of Nebraska, reduced to its present area of seventy- 
six thousand miles, Avas admitted into the Union as the thirty-seventh 
State. Finally, on the 25th of July, 1868, the Territory of Wyoming, 
with an area of ninety-eight thousand square miles, was organized out of 
portions of Dakota, Idaho and Utah. Thus were the Territories of the 
great West reduced to their present limits as represented in the accom- 
panying map. 

The year 1867 was signalized by the Purchase of Alaska. 
Two years previously tlie territory had been explored by a corps of 
scientific men with a view of establishing telegraphic communication with 
Asia by way of Behring Strait. The report of the exploration showed 
that Alaska was by no means the worthless country it had been supposed 
to be. It was found that the coast-fisheries were of very great value, and 
that the forests of white pine and yellow cedar were among the finest in 
the world. Negotiations for the purcliase of the peninsula were at once 
opened, and on the 30th of March, 1867, a treaty was concluded by which, 
for the sum of seven million two hundred thousand dollars, Russia ceded 
Alaska to the United States. The territory thus added to the domains 
of the Republic embraced an area of five hundred and eighty thousand 
square miles, and a population of twenty-nine thousand souls. 

Very soon after his accession to the chief magistracy a serious dis- 
agreement arose between the President and Congress. The difficulty 
grew out of the great question of reorganizing the Southern States. The 
particular point in dispute was as to the relation which those States had 
sustained to the Federal Union during the civil M'ar. The President held 
that the ordinances of secession were in their very nature null and void, 
and that therefore the seceded States had never been out of the Union. 
The majority in Congress held that the acts of secession were illegal and 
unconstitutional, but that the seceded States had been by those acts 



548 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

actually detached from the Union, and that special legislation and special 
guarantees were necessary in order to restore them to their former rela- 
tions under the government. Such Avas the real foundation of the diffi- 
culty by which the question of reconstructing the Southern States was so 
seriously embarrassed. 

In the summer of 1865 measures of reconstruction were begun by 
the President in accordance with his OMn views. On the 9th of INIay a 
proclamation was issued for the restoration of Virginia to the Union. 
Twenty days afterward another proclamation was issued establishing a 
provisional government over South Carolina; and at brief intervals 
similar measures were adopted in respect to the other States of the late 
Confederacy. On the 24th of June all restrictions on trade and inter- 
course with the Southern States were removed by proclamation of the 
President. On the 7th of the following September a second amnesty 
proclamation was issued, by which all persons who had upheld the Con- 
federate cause — excepting the leaders — were unconditionally pardoned. 
Meanwhile, the State of Tennessee had been reorganized, and in 18G6 
was restored to its place in the Union. Meanwhile, the national Con- 
gress was pursuing its own line of policy in regard to the reconstruc- 
tion of the Southern States. During the session of 1865-66, a com- 
mittee of fifteen was appointed by that body to whom all matters 
appertaining to the reorganization of the States of the overthrown 
Confederacy should be referred. Soon afterwards the celebrated Civil 
Rights Bill was passed, the object of which was to secure to the 
freedmen of the South the full exercise of citizenship. The measure 
was opposed and vetoed by the President, but was immediately re- 
passed by a two-thirds congressional majority. On the occasion of the 
celebration of Washington's birthday at the Capital, the bill was se- 
verely denounced by the President in a speech delivered in front of 
the executive mansion ; and the position assumed by Congress was de- 
clared to be a new rebellion against the government of the United 
States. In subsequent speeches and messages the same sentiment was 
reiterated, and the attitude of the executive and legislative departments 
became constantly more unfriendly. 

In the summer of 1866 a call was issued for a national conven- 
tion to be held in Philadelphia on the 14th of August. The objects 
had in view were not very clearly defined; but it was understood that 
the general condition of the country w^ould be considered, measures 
of national policy discussed, and all the political elements, in opposi- 
tion to the majority in Congress be consolidated into a new political 
party, with which the President's name v/ould be associated in leader- 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 549 

ship. At the appointed time delegates from all the States and terri- 
tories were present ; many members of the Republican party took part 
in the movement, and the convention was not lacking in enthusiasm. 
Still, the meeting exercised but very little permanent influence on the 
affliirs of the country. 

Soon afterwards the President made another effort to rally pub- 
lic opinion in favor of his policy. In the latter part of August he 
set out from Washington, accompanied by Secretaries Seward, ^Yelles, 
and Randall, General Grant, Admiral Farragut, and other prominent 
officials, to make a tour of the Northern States. The ostensible ob- 
ject had in view was that the President should be present at the laying 
of the corner stone of a monument to Senator Douglas at Chicago. 
Departing from the Capital, the presidential party passed through Phil- 
adelphia, New York, and Albany, and after taking part in the cere- 
monies at Chicago, returned by way of St. Louis, Indianapolis, Louis- 
ville, Cincinnati, and Pittsburg. At all the principal towns and cities 
through which he passed, the President spoke freely to the crowds in 
defence of his own policy and in denunciation of that of Congress. 
The whole journey was a scene of intense excitement and partisan ani- 
mosity. The general effect of the President's course was disastrous 
to him and his political adherents; for in the elections of the follow- 
ing autumn the measures of Congress were sustained and the members 
reelected by increased popular majorities. Nevertheless, the result of 
the election had very little effect in altering the President's views or 
softening his feelings towards the legislative department of the gov- 
ernment. 

By degrees the affairs of the administration grew critical. When 
Congress convened in December of 1866 the policy of the President 
was severely condemned. The congressional committee, appointed at 
the session of the previous year, now brought forward a report em- 
bodying a full plan of reorganizing the Southern States. After much 
discussion the measures proposed by the committee were adopted by 
Congress, and the work of reconstruction was begun. As the first 
condition for the reiidmission of a State into the Union it was enacted 
that the people of the same, by their legislative assembly or other- 
wise, should ratify the fourteenth amendment to the constitution which 
declared the citizenship of all persons born or naturalized in the 
United States. In furtherance of this policy Congress, at the same 
session, passed an act requiring that in the national territories the 
elective franchise should be granted without distinction of race or 
color, before such territories should be admitted into the Union. A 



650 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

similar measure was adopted in respect to the District of Columbia, 
forbidding the further restriction of the right of suifrage to white 
men. To all of these acts President Johnson opposed his veto ; but 
in every case his objection was overcome by the two-thirds majority 
in Congress. 

Concerning the reorganization of the Southern States, the real 
question at issue was as to whether a civil or a mUitary method of re- 
construction ought to be adopted. From the beginning, the President 
had urged the superiority of the civil process. But in Congress the 
opposite opinion prevailed, and the views of the majority were rather 
intensified by the hostility of the executive. On the 2d of March, 
1867, an act was passed by wdiich the ten seceded States were divided 
into five military districts, each district to be under the control of a 
governor appointed by the President. After appointing the comman- 
ders required by this law, the chief magistrate asked tlie opinion of 
Mr. Stanbery, his attorney-general, as to the validity of the con- 
gressional measures of reconstruction. An answer was returned that 
most of the acts were null and void ; and the President accordingly 
issued to the military commanders an order which measurably nulli- 
fied the whole proceeding. But Congress passed a supplemental act 
declaring the meaning of the previous law, and the process of reor- 
ganization was continued under tlie congressional plan. The work, 
however, was greatly retarded by the distracted counsels of the gov- 
ernment and the chaotif condition of affairs in the South. But in due 
time the States of Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, 
jSTorth Carolina, and South Carolina were reconstructed, and in the 
months of June and' July, 1868, readmitted into the Union. In every 
case, however, the rejidmission Avas effected against the protest, and 
over the veto of the President. 

In the mean time, a difficulty had arisen in the President's cabinet 
which led to his impeachment. On the 21st of February, 1868, he noti- 
fied Edwin M. Stanton, secretary of war, of his dismissal from office. 
The act was regarded by Congress as a usurpation of authority and a 
violation of law on the part of the President. The reconstruction diffi- 
culties had already broken off all friendly relations between the two 
Houses and the executive. Accordingly, on the 3d of March, articles of 
impeachment were agreed to by the House of Representatives, in ac- 
cordance with tlie forms of the Constitution, and the cause was im- 
mediately remanded to the Senate for trial. Proceedings began 
before that body on the 23d of March and continued until the 26tli 
of May, when the President w^as acquitted. But his escape was 



JOHNSON'S ADMINISTRATION. 



551 



very narrow; a two-thirds majority was required to convict, and 
lad one vote was icantinfj. Chief-Justice Salmon P. Chase, one of the 
most eminent of American statesmen and jurists, presided over this 
remarkable trial. 

The time for 
lidding another presi- 
dential election was 
already at hand. 
General Ulysses S. 
Grant was nomina- 
ted by the Republi- 
cans, and Horatio 
S e y m o u r of New 
York by the Demo- 
crats. The canvass 
was attended w i t h 
great excitement. 
The people were still 
agitated by the recent 
strife through which 
the nation had passed, 
and the questions 
most discussed by the 
political speakers were 
those arising out of 
the civil war. The 

principles advocated by the majority in Congress furnished the basis of 
the Republican platform of 1868, and on that platform General Grant 
was chosen by a very large electoral majority. The votes of twenty- 
six States, amounting, in the aggregate, to two hundred and fourteen 
ballots, were cast in his favor, while his competitor received only 
the eighty votes of the remaining eleven States. Of the popular vote, 
however, jNlr. Seymour obtained two million seven hundred and three 
thousand six hundred, against three million thirteen thousand one 
hundred and eighty-eight given to General Grant. At the same elec- 
tion, the choice for the vice-presidency fell on Schuyler Colfax of 
Indiana. 




CHIEF-JUSTICE CHASE. 



552 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER LXVIII. 

GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION, 1S69. 

ULYSSES S. GRANT, eighteenth President of the United States, is 
a native of Ohio, born at Point Pleasant, in that State, April 27th, 
1822. At the age of seventeen he entered the United States Military 
Academy at AVest Point, and v/as graduated in 1843. He served with 

distinction and was 
promoted for gallantry 
in the Mexican war; 
but his first national 
reputation was won by 
the capture of Forts 
Henry and Donel- 
son in 1862. From 
that time he rapidly 
rose in rank, and in 
March, 1864, received 
the appointment of 
lieutenant-general and 
commander-i n-ch i e f 
of the Union army. 
His subsequent career 
at the head of that 
army has already been 
narrated. At the 
close of the M'ar his 
r e p u t a t i o n, though 
strictly military, was 
very great ; and his 
being involved in 
the imbroglio between President Johnson and Congress rather height- 
ened than diminished the estimation in which he was held by the 
people of the North. Before the Republican convention, held at 
Chicago on the 21st of May, 1868, he had no competitor, and was 
unanimously nominated on the first ballot. On the day following his 
inauguration as President, he sent in to the Senate the following 




PRESIDENT GRANT. 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 553 

nominations for cabinet officers : For secretary of state, Eliliu B. 
Washburne of Illinois; for secretary of the treasury, Alexander T. 
Stewart of New York ; for secretary of the interior, Jacob D. Cox of 
Ohio ; for secretary of the navy, Adolph E. Borie of Pennsylvania ; 
for secretary of Avar, John M. Schofiekl of Illinois ; for postmaster- 
general, John A. J. Creswell of Maryland ; for attorney-general, E. 
H. Hoar of Massachusetts. These nominations were at once con- 
firmed ; but it was soon discovered that Mr. Stewart, being engaged 
in commerce, was ineligible, and George S. Boutwell of Massachu- 
setts was appointed in his stead. INIr. Washburne also gave up his 
office to accept the position of minister to France ; and the vacant 
secretaryship was given to Hamilton Fish of New York. 

The first event by which the new administration was signalized 
was the completion of the Pacific Railroad. This vast enterprise was 
projected as early as 1853 ; but ten years elapsed before the work of 
construction was actually begun. The first division of the road ex- 
tended from Omaha, Nebraska, to Ogden, Utah, a distance of a thou- 
sand and thirty-two miles. The western division, called the Central 
Pacific Railroad, reached from Ogden to San Francisco, a distance of 
eight hundred and eighty-two miles. On the 10th of May, 1869, the 
great work was completed with appropriate ceremonies. 

Before tlie inauguration of President Grant two additional amend- 
ments to the Constitution had been adopted by Congress. Tlie first of 
these, known as the Fourteenth Amendment, extended the right of citi- 
zenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and de- 
clared the validity of the public debt. This amendment was submitted 
in 1867, was ratified by three-fourths of the States, and in the following 
year became a part of the Constitution. A few weeks before the expiration 
of Mr. Johnson's term the Fifteenth Amendment Avas adopted by Congress, 
providing tliat the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged on account of race, color or previous condition of 
servitude. This clause, which was intended to confer the right of suffiage 
on the emancipated black men of the South, was also submitted to the 
States, received the sanction of three-fourths of the legislatures, and on 
the 30th of March, 1870, was proclaimed by the President as a part of 
the Constitution. 

In the autumn of 1869 occurred the most extraordinary mone- 
tary excitement ever known in the United States, or perliaps in the 
world. A company of unscrupulous speculators in New York city, 
headed by Jay Gould and James Fisk, jr., succeeded in producing 
what is known as a "corner" in the gold market and brought the 



554 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

business interests of the metropolis to the verge of ruin. During the 
civil war the credit of the government had declined to such an extent 
that at one time a dollar in gold was worth two hundred and eighty- 
six cents in paper currency. But after the restoration of the national 
authority the value of paper money appreciated, and in the fall of 
18G9 the ratio of gold to the greenback dollar had fallen to about one 
hundred and thirty to one hundred. There were at this time, in the 
banks of New York, fifteen million dollars in gold coin and in the 
sub-treasury of the United States a hundred millions more. The plan 
of Gould and Fisk was to get control by purchase of the greater part 
of the fifteen millions, to prevent the secretary of the treasury from 
selling any part of the hundred millions under his authority, then — 
having control of the market — to advance the price of gold to a fab- 
ulous figure, sell out all which they held themselves, and retire from 
the field of slaughtered fortunes with their accumulated millions of 
spoils! Having carefully arranged all the preliminaries, the conspir- 
ators, on the 13th of September, began their work of purchasing gold, 
at the same time constantly advancing the price. By the 22d of the 
month, they had succeeded in putting up the rate to a hundred and 
forty. On the next day the price rose to a hundred and forty-four. 
The members of the conspiracy now boldly avowed their determina- 
tion to advance the rate to two hundred, and it seemed that on the 
morrow they would put their threat into execution. On the morning 
of the 24th, known as BlxVCK Friday, the bidding in the gold-room 
began with intense excitement. The brokers of Fisk and Gould ad- 
vanced the price to a hundred and fifty, a hundred and fifty-five, and 
finally to a hundred and sixty, at which figure they were obliged to 
purchase several millions by a company of merchants who had banded 
themselves together with the determination to fight the gold-gamblers 
to the last. Just at this jnoment came a despatch that Secretary Bout- 
well had ordered a sale of four millions from the sub-treasury ! There 
was an instantaneous panic. The price of gold went down twenty 
per cent, in less than as many minutes ! The speculators were blown 
away in an uproar; but they managed, by accumulated frauds and 
corruptions, to carry off with them more than eleven million dollars as 
the fruits of their nefarious game! Several months elapsed before the 
business of the country recovered from the effects of the shock. 

In the first three months of 1870 the work of reorganizing the 
Southern States was completed. On the 24th of January the senators 
and representatives of Virginia were formally readmitted to their seats in 
Congress, and the Old Dominion once more took her place in the Union. 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 555 

On the 23d of February a like action was taken in regard to Mississippi ; 
and on the 30th of March the work was finished by the readniission of 
Texas, the last of the seceded States. For the first time since the outbreak 
of the civil war the voice of all the States was heard in the councils of 
the nation. 

In this year was completed the ninth census of the United States. 
It was a work of vast importance, and the results jiresented were of the 
most encouraging character. Notwithstanding the ravages of war, the 
last decade had been a period of wonderful growth and progress. During 
tliat time the population had increased from thirty-one million four hun- 
dred and forty-three thousand to thirty-eight million five hundred and 
eiglity-seven thousand souls. The centre of population had now moved 
westward into the great State of Ohio, and rested at a point fifty miles 
east of Cincinnati. The national debt, though still enormous, was rapidly 
falling off. The products of the United States had grown to a vast 
aggregate ; even the cotton crop of tlie South Avas regaining much of its 
former importance. American manufactures Avere competing with those 
of England in the markets of the world. The Union now embraced 
thirty-seven States and eleven Territories.* From the narrow limits of 
the thirteen original colonics, with their four hundred and twenty-one 
thousand square miles of territory, the national domain had spread to the 
vast area of three million six hundred and four thousand square miles. 
Few things, indeed, have been more marvelous than the territorial growth 
of the United States. The purchase of Louisiana more than doubled the 
geographical area of the nation ; the several Mexican acquisitions were 
only second in importance ; Avhile the recent Russian cession alone was 
greater in extent than the original thirteen States. The nature of this 
territorial development will be best understood from an examination of 
the accompanying map. 

In January of 1871 President Grant appointed Senator "Wade of 
Ohio, Professor White of New York and Dr. Samuel Howe of jNIassa- 
chusetts as a board of commissioners to visit Santo Domingo and report 
upon the desirability of annexing that island to the United States. The 
question of annexation had been agitated for several years, and the 
measure was earnestly favored by the President. After three months 
spent abroad, the commissioners returned and reported in favor of the 
proposed annexation ; but the proposal was met with violent oj)position 
in Congress, and defeated. 

The claim of the United States against the British government for 
damages done to ximerican commerce by Confederate cruisers during the 
* Including the Indian Territory and Alaska. 



556 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

civil war still remained unsettled. These cruisers had been built and 
equipped in English ports and with the knowledge of the English gov- 
ernment. Such a proceeding Mas in plain violation of the law of nations, 
even if the independence of the Confederate States had been recognized. 
Time and again Mr. Seward remonstrated with the British authorities, 
but without effect. After the war Great Britain became alarmed at her 
own conduct, and grew anxious for a settlement of the difficulty. On 
the 27th of February, 1871, a joint high commission, composed of five 
British and five American statesmen, assembled at Washington city. 
From the fact that the cruiser Alabama had done most of the injury 
complained of, the claims of the United States were called the Alabama 
Claims. After much discussion, the commissioners framed a treaty, 
known as the Treaty of Washington, by which it was agreed that all 
claims of either nation against the other should be submitted to a board 
of arbitration to be appointed by friendly nations. Such a court was 
formed, and in the summer of 1872 convened at Geneva, Switzerland. 
The cause of the two nations M^as impartially heard, and on the 14th of 
September decided in favor of the United States. Great Britain was 
obliged, for the wrongs which she had done, to pay into the Federal 
treasury fifteen million five hundred* thousand dollars. 

During the year 1871, there Avere laid and put into operation in 
the United States no less than seven thousand six hunched and seventy 
miles of railroad ! There is perhaps no fact in the history of the 
world which exhibits so marvelous a development of the physical 
resources of a nation. Ere the mutterings of the civil war, with its 
untold destruction of life and treasure, had died away in the distance, 
the recuperative power, enterprise, and genius of the American peo- 
ple were revealed, as never before, in establishing and extending the 
lines of travel and commerce. In 1830 there were but twenty-three 
miles of railway track in the ISTew World. In 1840 the lines in the 
United States had been extended to two thousand eight hundred and 
eighteen miles. Ten years later there Avere nine thousand and twenty- 
one miles of track. According to the reports for 1860, the railroads 
of the country had reached the enormous extent of thirty thousand 
six hundred and thirty-five miles ; and in the next ten years, embrac- 
ing the period of the civil war, the amount was nearly doubled. Such 
is the triumphant power of free institutions — the victory of free enter- 
prise, free industry, free thought. There stands the fact ! Let the 
adherents of the Old World's methods, the eulogists of the past, take 
it and read it. Wherever the human race pants for a larger activity, 
a more glorious exercise of its energies, let the story be told how the 



♦ ' 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 557 

United States, just emerged from the furnace of war, smarting with 
wounds, and burdened with an enormous debt, built in a single year 
more than twice as many miles of railroad as Spain, ridden with her 
precedents of kingcraft and priestcraft, has ever built in her whole 
career. 

The year 1871 is noted in American history for the burning of 
Chicago. On ihQ evening of the 8th of October a fire broke out in De 
Koven street, and was driven by a high wind into the lumber-yards and 
wooden houses of the neighborhood. The flames leaped the South Branch 
of the Chicago River and spread with great rapidity through the business 
parts of the city. All day long the deluge of fire rolled on, crossed the 
main channel of the river, and swept into a blackened ruin the whole dis- 
trict between the North Branch and the lake as far northward as Lincoln 
Park. The area burned over was two thousand one hundred acres, or 
three and a third square miles. Nearly two hundred lives were lost in 
the conflagration, and the property destroyed amounted to about two 
hundred millions of dollars. No such a terrible devastation had been 
witnessed since the burning of Moscow in 1812. In the extent of the 
district burned over, the Chicago fire stands first, in the amount of 
property destroyed second, and in the suffering occasioned third, among 
the great conflagrations of the world. 

On the 21st of October, 1872, was settled the only remaining 
dispute concerning the boundaries of the United States. By the terms 
of the treaty of 1846 it was stipulated that the North-western bound- 
ary line, running westward along the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, 
should extend to the middle of the channel which separates the con- 
tinent from Vancouver's Island, and thence southerly through the mid- 
dle of said channel and of Fuca's Straits to the Pacific. But what was 
"the middle of said channel"? for there were several channels. The 
British government claimed the Straits of Rosario to be the true line 
intended by the treaty, while the United States would have the Canal 
de Haro. So the question stood for a quarter of a century, and was 
then referred for settlement to the arbitration of William L, Em- 
peror of Germany. That monarch heard the cause, decided in favor 
of the United States, and the Canal de Haro became the international 
boundary. 

As the first official term of President Grant drew to a close the 
political parties made ready for the twenty-second presidential election. 
Many parts of the chief magistrate's policy had been made the subjects of 
criticism and controversy. The congressional plan of reconstructing the 
Southern States had prevailed, and with that plan the President was in 



558 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



accord. But the reconstruction measures had been unfavorably re- 
ceived in the South. The elevation of the nesro race to the full rights 
of citizenship was regarded with apprehension. Owing to the disor- 
ganization of civil government in the Southern States, an opportunity 
was given in certain districts for bad men to band themselves together 

in lawlessness. The 
military spirit was 
still rife in the coun- 
try, and the issues 
of the civil war were 
rediscussed, some- 
times with much 
bitterness. On these 
issues the people di- 
vided in the election 
of 1872. The Re- 
publicans renomi- 
nated General Grant 
for the presidency. 
For the vice-presi- 
dency Mr. C o 1 f a X 
declined a renomi- 
nation, and was suc- 
ceeded by Henry 
Wilson of Massa- 
chusetts. As the 
standard - bearer of 
the Liberal Republican and Democratic parties Horace Greeley, ed- 
itor of the New York Tribune, was nominated. This was the last act 
in that remarkable man's career. For more than thirty years he had 
been an acknowledged leader of public opinion in America. He had 
discussed with vehement energy and enthusiasm almost every question 
in which the people of the United States have any interest. After a 
lifetime of untiring industry he was now, at the age of sixty-one, 
called to the forefront of political strife. The canvass was one of ' 
wild excitement and bitter denunciations. Mr. Greeley was over- 
whelmingly beaten, and died in less than a month after the election. 
In his death the nation lost a great philanthropist and journalism its 
bri}j;htest lio-ht. 

A few days after the presidential election the city of Boston was 
visited by a conflagration only second in its ravages to that of Chicago 




HORACE GREELEY. 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 559 

in the previous year. On the evening of the 9th of November a fire 
broke out on the corner of Kingston and Summer streets, spread to 
the north-east, and continued with ahnost unabated fury until the 
morning of the 11th. The best portion of the city, embracing some 
of the finest blocks in the United States, was laid in ashes. The 
burnt district covered an area of sixty-five acres. Eight hundred 
buildings, property to the value of eighty million dollars, and fifteen 
lives were lost bv the conflagration. 

In the spring of 1872 an order had been issued to Superintendent 
Odeneal to remove the Modoc Indians from their lands on the southern 
shore of Lake Klamath, Oregon, to a new reservation. The Indians, who 
had been greatly mistreated by former agents of the government, refused 
to go ; and in the following November a body of troops was sent to force 
them into compliance. The jNIodocs resisted, kept up the M'ar during the 
winter, and then retreated into an almost inaccessible volcanic region 
called the lava-beds. Here, in the spring of 1873, the Indians were sur- 
rounded, but not subdued. On the 11th of April a conference was held 
between them and six members of the peace commission; but in the 
midst of the council the treacherous savages rose upon the kind-hearted 
men who sat beside them and murdered General Canby and Dr. Thomas 
in cold blood. Mr. Meacham, another member of the commission, was 
shot and stabbed, but escaped with his life. The JNIodocs were then be- 
sieged and bombarded in their stronghold; but it was the 1st of June 
before General Davis with a force of regulars could compel Captain Jack 
and his murderous band to surrender. The chiefs were tried by court- 
martial and executed in the following October. 

In the early part of 1873 a difficulty arose in Louisiana which 
threatened the peace of the country. Owing to the existence of double 
election-boards two sets of presidential electors had been chosen in the 
previous autumn. At the same time two governors — William P. Kellogg 
and John jSIcEnery — were elected; and rival legislatures were also re- 
turned by the hostile boards. Two State governments were accordingly 
orofanized, and for a while the commonwealth was in a condition border- 
ing on anarchy. The dispute was referred to the Federal government, 
and the President decided in favor of Governor Kellogg and his party. 
The rival government was accordingly disbanded ; but on the 14th of 
September, 1874, a large party, opposed to the administration of Kellogg 
and led by D. B. Penn, who had been returned as lieutenant-governor 
with McEnery, rose in arms and took possession of the State-house. 
Governor Kellogg fled to the custom-house and appealed to the President 
for help. The latter immediately ordered the adherents of Penn to dis- 



5G0 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

perse, and a body of national troops was sent to NeAV Orleans to enforce 
the proclamation. On the assembling of the legislature in the following 
December the difficulty broke out more violently than ever, and the sol- 
diery was again called in to settle tlie dispute. 

About the beginning of President Grant's second term, the country 
was greatly agitated by what was known as the Credit Mobilier 
Investigation in Congress. The Credit Mobilier of America was a 
joint stock company organized in 1863 for the purpose of facilitating the 
construction of jiublic works. In 1867 another company which had 
undertaken to build the Pacific Railroad ])urchased the charter of the 
Credit Mobilier, and the capital was increased to three million seven 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Owing to the profitableness of the 
work in which the company was engaged, the stock rose rapidly in value 
and enormous dividends were paid to the shareholders. In 1872 a law- 
suit in Pennsylvania developed the startling fact that much of the stock 
of the Credit INIobilier was oivned by members of Congress. A suspicion 
that those members had voted corruptly in the legislation affecting the 
Pacific Railroad at once seized the public mind and led to a congressional 
investigation, in the course of wdiicli many scandalous transactions were 
brought to light, and the faith of the people in the integrity of their 
servants greatly shaken. 

In the autumn of 1873 occurred one of the most disastrous finan- 
cial panics known in the history of the United States. The alarm 
was given by the failure of the great banking-house of Jay Cooke & 
Company of Philadelphia. Other failures followed in rapid succes- 
sion. Depositors everywhere hurried to the banks and withdrew their 
money and securities. Business was suddenly paralyzed, and many 
months elapsed before confidence was sufficiently restored to enable 
merchants and bankers to engage in the usual transactions of trade. 
The primary cause of the panic was the fluctuation in the volume and 
value of the national currency. Out of this had arisen a wild spirit 
of speculation which sapped the foundations of business, destroyed 
financial confidence, and ended in disaster. 

Not the least of the evil results of the great monetary disturb- 
ance was the check given to the Northern Pacific Railroad. 
xVs early as 1864 a company had been organized under a congressional 
charter to construct a railway from Lake Superior to Puget Sound. 
The work also contemplated the running of a branch road, two hun- 
dred miles in length, down the valley of the Columbia River to Port- 
land, Oregon. Large subsidies were granted to the company by Con- 
gress, and other favorable legislation was expected. In 1870 the work 



GBANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 561 

of construction was begun and carried westward from Duluth, Minne- 
sota. Jay Cooke's banking-house made heavy loans to the company, 
accepting as security the bonds of the road ; for it was confidently 
expected that such legislation would be obtained as should secure the 
success of the enterprise and bring the bonds to par. In this condi- 
tion of affairs the Credit Mobilier scandal was blown before the coun- 
try ; and no Congress would have dared to vote further subsidies to 
a railroad enterprise. Jay Cooke's securities became comparatively 
wortlilcss; then followed the failures and the panic. The work of 
constructing the road was arrested by the financial distress of the 
country, and has since been pushed forward but slowly and with great 
difficulty. In 1875 the section of four hundred and fifty miles, ex- 
tending from Duluth to Bismarck, Dakota, had been put in opera- 
tion; and another section, a hundred and five miles in length, between 
Kalama and Tacoma, in Washington Territory, had also been com- 
pleted. Meanwhile, the attention of the country was turned to the 
Texas and Pacific line, which had been projected from Shrcveport, 
Louisiana, and Texarkana, Arkansas, by way of El Paso to San Diego, 
California — a distance from vShreveport of a thousand five hundred 
and fourteen miles. In 1875 the main line had been Carried west- 
Avard from the beginning a hundred and eighty-nine miles to Dallas, 
Texas, while the line from Texarkana had progressed a distance of 
seventy-five miles towards El Paso. 

On the 4th of March, 1875, the Territory of Colorado was au- 
thorized by Congress to form a State constitution. The new common- 
wealth embraces a territorial area of a hundred and four thousand 
five hundred square miles, and a population of forty-two thousand 
souls. Public attention was first directed to the territory by the dis- 
covery of gold, in the year 1852. Silver ores were discovered about 
the same time, and in the winter of 1858-9, the first colony of miners, 
numbering four hundred, was established on Clear Creek and in Gil- 
pin County. The entire yield of gold up to the time of the admission 
of the State was estimated at more than seventy millions of dollars. 
Until 1859, Colorado constituted a part of Kansas; but in that year 
a territorial convention was held at Denver, and in 1861 a distinct 
organization was effected. During the civil war but little progress 
was made in the development of the territory, but since 1870 immi- 
gration has been rapid and constant. ' 

The last years of the history of the Republic have been noted 
for the number of public men who have fallen by the hand of death. 
In December of 1869 Edwin M. Stanton, secretary of war under 

36 



562 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



President Lincoln, and more recently justice of the supreme court of the 
United States, died. In 1870 General Robert E. Lee, president of 
Washington and Lee University, General George H. Thomas and Ad- 
miral Farragut passed away. In 1872 William H. Seward, Professor 
Morse, Horace Greeley and General Meade were all called from the 

scene of their earth- 
ly labors. On the 
7th of May, 1873, 
Chief-Justice Chase 
fell under a stroke 
of paralysis at the 
home of his daugh- 
ter in New York 
City; and on the 
11th of March in 
the following year, 
Senator Charles 
Sumner of Massa- 
chusetts died at 
Washington. He 
was a native of Bos- 
ton; born in 1811 ; 
liberally educated at 
Harvard College. 



At the age of thir- 
ty - five he entered 
the arena of public 
life, and in 1850 succeeded Daniel Webster in the Senate of the 
United States. This position he retained until the time of his death, 
speaking much and powerfully on all the great questions that agitated 
the nation. His last days were spent in considering the interests 
and welfare of that country to whose service he had given the life- 
long energies of his genius. On the 22d of November, 1875, Vice- 
President Henry Wilson, whose health had been gradually failing 
since his inauguration, sank under a stroke of paralysis and died at 
Washington city. Like Roger Sherman, he had risen from the shoe- 
maker's bench to the highest honors of his country. Without the 
learning of Seward and Sumner — without the diplomatic skill of the 
one or the oratorical fame of the other — he nevertheless possessed 
those great abilities and sterling merits which will transmit his name 
to after times on the roll of patriot statesmen. 




CHARLES SUMNER. 




(563) 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 



565 



As the Centennial of American Independence drew near, the 
people made ready to celebrate the great event with appropriate cere- 
monies. As to the form of the celebration, an international exposi- 
tion of arts and industries was decided on ; as to the scene, the city of 
Philadelphia, hallowed by Revolutionary memories, was selected ; as 
to the time, from the 10th of May to the 10th of November, 1876. 
Congress and the people vied with each other in contributing to the 
success of the magnificent enterprise. An appropriation of one mil- 
lion five hundred thousand dollars was voted from the national treas- 
ury, and from every State and territory large contributions of money 
were forwarded as the voluntary offerings of the people. Under the 
auspices of a Centennial Commission, with Professor Campbell of 
Wabash College at the head, the work of preparation was begun early 




MAIN EXPOSITION BUILDING. 



in 1875. The city of Philadelphia, giving her whole energies to the 
enterprise, opened Fairmount Park, one of the largest and most mag- 
nificent in the world, for the exposition. The beautiful tract, present- 
ing every variety of surface, well wooded and well watered — extends 
on both sides of the Schuylkill for more than seven miles and along 
the banks of the Wissahickon for nearly the same distance. The 
park embraces two thousand seven hundred and forty acres, and pre- 
sents to the eye everything that is lovely and refreshing in woodland 
scenery. In accordance with the plans of the Centennial Commission 
the following edifices were projected : A main exposition building, one 
thousand eight hundred and eighty feet in length from east to west 
and four hundred and sixty-four feet wide, covering an area of twenty 
acres. Through the greater part of its extent the structure is one 
storv in height, the cornice being forty-five feet above the ground. 
The main projections of the sides are four hundred and sixteen feet 
and those of the ends two hundred and sixteen feet iu leno^th. The 



566 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



towers are forty-eight feet square and rise to the height of a hundred 
and twenty feet. The foundations of the great edifice consist of stone 
piers of the most substantial masonry. The walls arc built of brick 
to the heio'ht of seven feet, and above this rises the superstructure, 
supported by wrought-iron columns and crowned with a roof sustained 
by trusses of the same material. The vast interior is divided into 
sections, halls, and apartments which have been assigned to the vari- 
ous nations participating in the exposition. 

The building next in importance is the Fine Art Gallery, situa- 
ted on the Landsdowne Plateau, a hundred and sixteen feet above the 




FINE ART GALLERY. 



Schuylkill. The structure is composed of granite, glass, and iron, and 
is in that modern style of architecture called the Renaissance. The 
edifice is three hundred and sixty-five feet in length, two hundred and 
ten feet wide, and fifty-nine feet in height above the basement. The 
dome rises a hundred and fifty feet above the ground and is sur- 
mounted with a magnificent figure of a goddess representing America. 
Each corner of the base is adorned with a colossal statue, and the 
building in its entirety is worthy of the noble purpose for which it 
was constructed. 

The structure next in interest is the building for the exposition 
of machinery. This consists of a main hall a thousand four hundred 
and two feet in length by three hundred and sixty feet in breadth. 
On the south side is a projection two hundred and eight feet deep by 



GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION. 



567 



two hundred and ten feet broad. The whole area enclosed within the 
structure is twelve and eighty-two hundredths acres. The horticultural 
building is constructed of iron and glass. It is three hundred and 
eighty-three feet in length, a hundred and ninety-three feet wide, and 
seventy-two feet high. In this building is the great central conserva- 
tory, arranged in the form of a parallelogram, two hundred and thirty 
feet long, eighty feet wide, and fifty-five feet in height. Northward 
of this edifice stands the agricultural hall, built of wood and glass. 
The main apartment in this building is eight hundred and twenty feet 
in length, a hundred and twenty-five feet wide, and seventy-five feet 




HORTICULTURAL KUILDING. 



high. The walls embrace an area of between ten and eleven acres. 
The entire cost of these splendid structures is estimated at five millions 
of dollars. 

Into the spacious and beautiful park, into the great buildings 
which wealth and national pride had provided, came the products of 
all lands and the people of all climes. Never before in the history 
of mankind have so many of the fruits of human genius been brought 
together ; never before has so rich a display of the handiwork and 
skill of man been made ; never before have the exchange of greetings 
and the congratulations of international friendships been so cordial 
and enthusiastic. Nor can the American well forget that back of it 
all lies the auspicious centennial of his country's independence. 

The historv of the United States has now been traced to a time 



568 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



so recent that the events to be mentioned have not yet become his- 
torical. The Republic has passed through stormy times, but has 
come at last to the threshold of its hundredth year in safety and 




AGRICULTURAL BUILDING. 



peace. The clouds that were recently so black overhead have broken, 
and are rapidly sinking behind the horizon. The fabric reared by 
the wisdom of the fathers still stands in undiminished glory. The 
Past has taught its lesson; the Present has its Duty, and 
THE Future its Hope. 



CHAPTER LXIX, 



COXCL USION. 



WHAT, then, of the outlook for the American Republic? What 
shall another century bring forth ? What is to be the destiny 
of this vigorous, aggressive, self-governing Anglo-American race? 
How will the picture, so well begun, be completed by the annalists 
of posterity ? Is it tlic sad fote of humanity, after all its struggles, 
toils, and sighing, to turn forever round and round in the same 
beaten circle, climbing the long ascent from the degradation of sav- 
age life to the heights of national renown only to descend again 
into the fenlands of despair? Is Lord Byron's gloomy picture of 



CONCLUSION. 569 

the rise and fall of nations indeed a true portrayal of the order of the 
world ?— 

Here is the moral of all human tales, — 

'Tis but the same rehearsal of the past, 

First freedom and then glory — when that fails. 

Wealth, vice, corruption, barbarism at last; 

And History with all her volumes vast 

Hath but one page ! 

Or has the human race, breaking the bonds of its servitude and es- 
caping at last from its long imprisonment, struck out across the fields 
of sublime possibility the promised pathway leading to the final tri- 
umph ? There are still doubts and fears — perplexities, anxieties, and 
sometimes anguish — arising in the soul of the philanthropist as he 
turns his gaze to the future. But there are hopes also, grounds of 
confidence, auspicious omens, tokens of the substantial victory of truth, 
inspirations of fiiith welling up in the heart of the watcher as he scans 
the dappled horizon of the coming day. 

As to present achievement the American people have far sur- 
passed the expectations of the fathers. The visions and dreams of the 
Revolutionary patriots have been eclipsed by the luster of actual ac- 
complishment. The territorial domains of the Republic enclose the 
grandest belt of forest, valley, and plain that the world has in it. 
Since the beginning of time no other people have possessed such a 
territory — so rich in resources, so varied in products, so magnificent 
in physical aspect. Soil and climate, the distribution of woods and 
lakes and rivers, the interposition of mountain ranges, and the fertil- 
ity of valley and prairie, here contribute to give to man a many-sided 
and powerful development. Here he finds bays for his shipping, 
rivers for his steamers, fields for his plow, iron for his forge, gold for 
his cupidity, landscapes for his pencil, sunshine enough for song, and 
snow enough for courage. Nor has the Anglo-American failed to profit 
by the advantages of his surroundings. He has planted a free gov- 
ernment on the largest and most liberal scale known in historv. He 
has espoused the cause of liberty and right. He has fought like a 
hero for the freedom and equality of all men. He has projected a 
civilization which, though as yet but dimly traced in outline, is the 
vastest and grandest in the world. Better than all, he believes in the 
times to come. So lono; as man is anxious about the future the fu- 
ture is secure. Only when he falls into apathy, sleeps at his post, and 
cares no longer for the morrow, is the world in danger of relapse and 
barbarism. 



570 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

To the thoughtful student of history several things seem neces- 
sary to the perpetuity and complete success of American institutions. 
The first of these is the prevalence of the Idea of National Unity. 
Of this spake Washington in his Farewell Address, warning his coun- 
trymen in solemn words to preserve and defend that government which 
constituted them one peojjie. Of this wrote Hamilton and Adams. 
For this pleaded Webster in his great orations. Upon this the far- 
seeing statesmen of the present day, rising above the strifes of party 
and the turmoils of war, plant themselves as the one thing vital in 
American politics. The idea that the United States are one Nation, 
and not thirty-eight nations, is the grand cardinal doctrine of a sound 
political faith. State pride and sectional attachment are natural pas- 
sions in the human breast, and are so near akin to patriotism as to be 
distinguished from it only in the court of a higlier reason. But there 
is a nobler love of country — a patriotism that rises above all places 
and sections, that knows no County, no State, no North, no South, but 
only native land; that claims no mountain slope; that clings to no 
river bank; that worships no range of hills; but lifts the aspiring eye 
to a continent redeemed from barbarism by common sacrifices and 
made sacred by the shedding of kindred blood. Such a patriotism is 
the cable and sheet-anchor of our hope. 

A second requisite for the preservation of American institutions 
is THE Universal Secular Education of the People. Monarchies 
govern their subjects by authority and precedent; republics by right 
reason and free will. Whether one method or tlie other will be better, 
turns wholly upon the intelligence of the governed. If the subject 
have not the knowdedge and discipline necessary to govern himself, it 
is better that a king, in whom some skill in the science of government 
is presupposed, should rule him. As between two stupendous evils, 
the rational tyranny of the intelligent few is preferable to the furious 
and irrational tyranny of the ignorant many. No force which has 
moved among men, impelling to bad action, inspiring to crime, over- 
turning order, tearing away the bulwarks of liberty and right, and 
converting civilization into a waste, has been so full of evil and so 
powerful to destroy as a blind, ignorant, and factious democracy. A 
republic without intelligence — even a high degree of intelligence — is 
a paradox and an impossibility. What means that principle of the 
Declaration of Independence which declares the consent of the gov- 
erned to be the true foundation of all just authority? What kind of 
"consent" is referred to? Manifestly not the passive and unresisting 
acquiescence of the mind which, like the potter's clay, receives what- 



CONCLUSION. 571 

ever is impressed upon it; but that active, thinking, resolute, conscious, 
personal consent which distinguishes the true freeman from the puppet. 
When the people of the United States rise to the heights of this noble 
and intelligent self-assertion, the occupation of the party leader — most 
despicable of all the tyrants — will be gone forever; and in order that 
the people may ascend to that high plane, the means by which intel- 
ligence is fostered, right reason exalted, and a calm and rational pub- 
lic opinion produced, must be universally secured. The public Free 
School is the fountain whose streams shall make glad all the lands 
of liberty. We must educate or perish. 

A third thing necessary to the perpetuity of American liberties 
is ToLERATiox — tolcration in the broadest and most glorious sense. 
In the colonial times intolerance embittered the lives of our fathers. 
Until the present day the baleful shadow has been upon the land. 
The proscriptive vices of the Middle Age have flowed down with the 
blood of the race and tainted the life that now is, with a suspicion and 
distrust of freedom. Liberty in the minds of men has meant the privi- 
lege of agreeing with the majority. Men have desired free thought, 
but fear has stood at the door. It remains for the United States to 
build a highway, broad and free, into every field of liberal inquiry, 
and to make the poorest of men who walks therein, more secure in life 
and reputation than the soldier who sleeps behind the rampart. Pro- 
scription has no part nor lot in the American system. The stake, the 
gibbet, and the rack, thumb-screws, s^vord, and pillory, have no place 
on this side of the sea. Nature is diversified ; so are human faculties, 
beliefs, and practices. Essential freedom is the right to differ; and 
that right must be sacredly respected. Nor must the privilege of dis- 
sent be conceded with coldness and disdain, but openly, cordially, and 
with good will. No loss of rank, abatement of character, or ostracism 
from society must darken the pathway of the humblest of the seekers 
after truth. The right of free thought, free inquiry, and free speech,. 
is as clear as the noonday and bounteous as the air and ocean. With- 
out a full and cheerful recognition of this right, America is only a 
name, her glory a dream, her institutions a mockery. 

The fourth idea, essential to the welfare and stability of the Re- 
public, is THE Nobility of Labor. It is the mission of the United 
States to ennoble toil and honor the toiler. In other lands to labor 
has been considered the lot of serfs and peasants ; to gather the fruits 
and consume them in luxury and war, the business of the great. 
Since the medieval times European society has been organized on the 
basis of a nobility and a people. To be a nobleman was to be distin- ■ 



572 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

guished from the people; to be one of the people was to be forever 
debarred from nobility. Thus has been set on human industry the 
stigma of perpetual disgrace. Something of this has been transmitted 
to the new civilization in the West — a certain disposition to renew 
the old order of lord and laborer. Let the odious distinction perish : 
the true lord is the laborer and the true laborer the lord. It is the 
genius of American institutions, in the fullness of time, to wipe the 
last opprobrious stain from the brow of toil and to crown the toiler 
with the dignity, luster, and honor of a full and perfect manhood. 

The scroll of the century is rolled together. The work is done. 
Peace to the memory of the fathers! Green be the graves where 
sleep the warriors, patriots, and sages ! Calm be the resting-place of 
all the brave and true ! Gentle be the summer rains on famous fields 
where armies met in battle! Forgotten be the animosities and heart- 
burnings of the strife ! Sacred be the trusts committed to our care, 
and briffht the visions of the coming ages! 



APPENDIX A 



SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE'S AEGU^IENT ON THE FIGURE 
OF THE EARTH. 

[Since the paragraph in the text has been the subject of some doubts and criticism, 
the original of Sir John MandevlUe's argument is liere appended. Tlie orthograpliy 
and pliraseology are not more quaint than the logic is invincible. In order that the ar- 
gument may be more easily followed and clearly understood, a translation or paraphrase, 
is added. It must not be forgotten that the date of Sir John's book is 1356 — a hundred 
and thirty-six years before the discovery of America by Columbus. — The Autiiok.] 

In that Lond, ne in many othere bezonde that, no man may .«ee the Sterre trans- 
montane, that is clept the Sterre of the See, that is unmevable, and that is toward the 
Northe, that we clepen the Lode Sterre. But men seen another Sterre, the contrarie to 
him, that is toward the Southe, that is clept Antartyk. And right as the Schip men 
taken here Avys here, and governe liem be the Lode Sterre, right so don Schip men 
bezonde the parties, be the Sterre of the Southe, the whiche Sterre apperethe not to us. 
And this Stei-re, that is toward the Nortlie, that wee clepen the Lode Sterre, ne apperethe 
not to hem. For wliiche cause, men may wel perceyve, that the Lond and the See ben 
of rownde schapp and forme. For the partie of the Firmament schewethe in o Contree, 
that schewethe not in another Contree. And men may well preven be experience and 
sotyle compassement of Wytt, that zif a man fond passages be Schippes, that wolde go 
to serchen the World, men myghte go be Schippe alle aboute the World, and aboven 
and benethen. The whiche thing I prove thus, aftre that I have seyn. For I have 
ben toward the parties of Braban, and beholden the Astrolabre,* that the Sterre ihat is 
clept the Transmontayne, is 53 Degrees highe. And more forthere in Ahnayne and 
Bewme, it hathe 58 Degrees. And more forthe toward the parties septemtrioneles, it is 
62 Degrees of heghte, and certeyn Mynutes. For I my self have mesured it by the 
Astrolabre. Now schulle ze knowe, that azen the Transmontayne, is the tother Sterre, 
that is clept Antartyke; as I have seyd before. And tho 2 Sterres ne meeven nevere. 
And be hem turnethe alle the Firmament, righte as dothe a Wheel, that turnethe be 
his Axille Tree: so that tho Sterres beren the Firmament in 2 egalle parties; so that 
it hathe als mochel aboven, as it hathe benethen. Aftre this, I have gon toward the 
parlies meridionales, that is toward the Southe : and I have founden, that in Lybye, 
men seen first the Sterre Antartyk. And so fer I have gon more forthe in tho Contrees, 
that I have founde that Sterre more highe ; so that toward the highe Lybye, it is 18 
Degrees of heghte, and certeyn Minutes (of the whiche, 60 Minutes niaken a Degree). 
Aftre goynge be See and be Londe, toward this Contree, of that I have spoke, and to 
other YIes and Londes bezonde that Contree, I have founden the Sterre Antartyk of 33 
Degrees of heghte, and mo mynutes. And zif I hadde had Companye and Schippynge, 
for to go more bezonde, I trowe wel in certeyn, that wee scholde have seen alle the 

*In Mandeville's time, Astronomers had attained but verj- little accuracy in taking observations. 

573 



574 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

roundnesFe of the Firmament alle aboute. ■'■■■ * ® ■'■■" '■■ * Be the whiche I seye 
zou certeyiily, that men may envirowne alle the Erthe of alle the World, as wel undre 
as aboven, and turnen azen to his Contree, that hadde Companye and Schipjjynge and 
Conduyt: and alle weyes he scholde fynde Men, Londes, and Yles, als wel as in this 
Contree. For zee wyten welle, that thei that ben toward the Antartyk, thei ben 
streghte, feet azen feet of hem, that dwellen undre transmontane; als wel as wee and 
thei that dwellyn under us, ben feet azenst feet. For alle the parties of See and of 
Lond han here appositees, habitables or trepassables, and thei of this half and bezond 
half. * •■■ ■••■ ■•" * * And whan men gon bczonde tho iourneyes, toward Ynde and 
to the foreyn Yles, alle is envyronynge the roundnesse of the Erthe and of the See, 
undre oure Contrees on this half. And therfore bathe it befallen many tymes of o 
thing, tliat I have herd cownted, whan I was zong; how a worth i man departed som- 
tyme from onre Contrees, for to go serche the World. And so he passed Ynde, and the 
Yles bezonde Ynde, where ben mo than 5000 Yles: and so longe he wente be See and 
Lond, and so environnd the World be many seysons, that he fond an Yle, where he 
herde speke his owne Langage, callynge on Oxen in the Plowghe, suche Wordes as men 
speken to Bestes in his owne Contree: whereof lie hadde gret Mervayle : for he knewe 
not how it myghte be. But I seye, that he had gon so longe, be Londe and be See, that 
lie had envyroiini alle the erthe, that he was comen azen envirounynge, that is to seye, 
goynge aboute, unto his owne Marches, zif he wolde have passed forthe, til he had 
fonnden his Contree and his owne knouleche. But he turned azen from thens, from 
Avhens he wns come fro; and so he loste moclie peynefulle labour, as him self seyde, a 
gret while aftre, that he was comen horn. For it befelle aftre, that he wente in to Nor- 
weye; and tliere Tempest of the See toke him ; and he arryved in an Yle ; and whan 
he was in that Yle, he knew wel, that it Avas the Yle, where he had herd speke his owne 
Langage before, and the callynge of the Oxen at the Plowghe : and that was possible 
thinge. But how it semethe to symple men nnlerned, that men ne mowe not go undre 
the Erthe, and also that men scholde falle toward the Hevene, from undre! But that 
may not be, u^aon lesse, than wee mowe falle toward Hevene, fro the Ertlie, where wee 
ben. For fro what partie of the Erthe, that men duelle, outher aboven or benethen, it 
semethe alweys to hem that duellen, that thei gon more righte than ony other folk. 
And righte as it semethe to us, that thei ben undre us, righte so it semethe hem, that 
wee ben undre hem. For zif a man myghte falle fro the Erthe unto the Firmament; 
be grettere resoun, the Erthe and the See, that ben so grete and so hevy, scholde fallen 
to the Firmament: but that may not be. '■■ •■' "■■• And alle be it that it be possible 
thing, that men may so envyronne alle the World, natheles of a 1000 persones, on ne 
myghte not happen to returnen in to his Contree. For, for the gretnesse of the Erthe 
and of the See, men may go be a 1000 and a 1000 other weyes, that no man cowde redye 
him perfitely toward the parties that he cam fro, but zif it were be aventure and happ, or 
be the grace of God. For the Erthe is fiille large and fulle gret, and holt in roundnesse 
and aboute envyroun, be aboven and be benethen 20425 Myles, aftre the opynyoun of 
the olde wise Astronomeres. And here Seyenges I repreve noughte. But aftre my lytylle 
wytt, it semethe me, savynge here reverence, that it is more. And for to have bettere 
understondynge, I seye thus, Be ther ymagyned a Figure that bathe a gret Compas; 
and aboute the poynt of the gret Compas, that is clept the Centre, be made another 
litille Compas: than aftre, be the gret Compas devised be Lines in manye parties; and 
that alle the Lynes meeten at the Centre ; so that in as many parties, as the grete 
Compas schal be departed, in als manye schalle be departed the litille, that is aboute 
the Centre, alle be it that the spaces ben lesse. Now thanne, be the gret compas 
represented for the firmament, and the litille compas represented for the Erthe. Now 
thanne the Firmament is devysed, be Astronomeres, in 12 Signes ; and every Signe is 



APPENDIX A. 575 

devysed in 30 Degrees, tluit is 360 Degrees, that the Firmament hathe aboven. Also, 
be tlie Erthe devysed in als many parties, as tlie Firmament; and lat every partye an- 
swers to a Degree of the Firmament: and wytetlie it wel, that aftre the Auctoures of 
Astronomye, 700 Furlonges of Erthe answeren to a Degree of the Firmament; and tho 
ben 87 Miles and 4 Furlonges. Now be that here multiplyed by 360 sitbes; and than 
thei ben 31500 Myles, every of 8 Furlonges, aftre Myles of onre Contree. So moche 
hathe the Erthe in roundnesse, and of heghte enviroun, aftre myn opynyoun and myn 
nndirstondynge. 



[paraphrase.] 

In that land and in others beyond no man may see the fixed star of the North which 
we call the Lode Star. But there men see another star called the Antarctic, opposite to the 
star of the North. And just as mariners in this hemisphere take their reckoning and 
govern their course by the North Star, so do the mariners of the South by the Antarctic. 
But the star of the North appears not to the people of the South. Wherefore men may 
easily perceive that the land and the sea are of round shape aiid figure. For that part of the 
firmament wliich is seen in one country is not seen in another. And men may prove 
both by experience and sound reasoning that if a man, having passage by ship, should 
go to search the world, he might with his vessel sail around the world, both above and under it. 
This proposition I prove as follows: I have myself in Prussia seen the North Star Dy 
the astrolabe fifty-three degrees above the horizon. Fui-ther on in Bohemia it rises to 
the height of fifty-eight degrees. And still farther northward it is sixty-two degrees 
and some minutes higli. I myself liave so measured it. Now the South Pole Star is, 
as I have said, opposite the North Pole Star. And about these poles the whole celestial 
sphere revolves like a wheel about the axle; and the firmament is thus divided into 
.two equal parts. From the North I have turned southward, passed the equator, and 
found that in Lybia the Antarctic Star first appears above the horizon. Farther on in 
those lands that star rises higher, until in southern Lybia it reaches the height of 
eighteen degrees and certain minutes, sixty minutes making a degree. After going 
by sea and by land towards that country [Australia perhaps] of which I have spoken, 
I have found the Antarctic Star more than thirty-three degrees above the horizon. 
And if I had had company and shipping to go still farther, 1 know of a certainty that I should 
have seen the ivhole circumference of the heavens. ^ ^ ■■' * '•■■ '■•' And I repeat that men 
may environ the whole world, as well under as above, and return to their own country, if they had 
company, and ships, and conduct. And always, as well as in their own land shall they find 
inhabited continents and islands. For know you well th;it they who dwell in the 
southern hemisphere are feet against feet of them who dwell in the northern hemi- 
sphere, jt(s< «s we and they that dwell under us are feet to feet. For every part of the sea and 
the land hatii its antijiode. ® * •■• * ® Moreover when men go on a journey toward 
India and the foreign islands, they do, on the whole route, circle the circumference of 
the earth, even to tliose countries which are under us. And therefore hath that same 
thing, which I heard recited when I was young, happened manv times. Howbeit, upon 
a time, a worthy man departed from our country to explore the world. And so he 
passed India and the islands beyond India — more than five thousand in number — and 
so long he went by sea and land, environing the world for many seasons, that he found 
an island where he heard them speaking his own language, hallooing at the oxen in 
the plow with the identical words spoken to beasts in his own country. Forsooth, he 
was astonished ; for he knew not how the thing might happen. But I assure you that 



576 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

lie had gone so far by land and sea that he liad actually gone around the world and 
was come again through the long circuit to his own district. It only remained for him 
to go forth and find his particuhar neighborhood. Unfortunately he turned from the 
coast which he had reached and thereby lost all his painful labor, as he himself after- 
wards acknowledged when he returned home. For it liappened by and by that he 
went into Norway, being driven tiiither by a storm ; and there he recognized an island 
as being the same in wliicli he had heard men calling the oxen in his own tongue : 
and that was a possible thing. And yet it seemeth to simple unlearned rustics that 
men may not go around the world, and if they did they would Jail off! But that absurd 
thing never could happen unless we ourselves from where we are should fall toward 
heaven! For upon what part soever of the earth men dwell, wliether above or under, 
it always seemeth to them that they walk more perpendicularly than other folks! And 
just as it seemeth to us that our antipodes are under us head downwards, just so it 
seemeth to them that we are under them head downwards. If a man miglit fall from 
the earth towards heaven, by much more reason the earth itself, being so heavy, should 
fall to heaven — an impossible thing. * ■•• * * Perhaps of a thousand men who 

should go around the world, not one might succeed in returning to his own particular 
neighborhood. For the earth is indeed a body of great size, its circumference being — 
according to the old wise astronomers— twenty thousand four liundred and twenty-five 
miles. And I do not reject their estimates; but according to my judgment, saving tlieir 
reverence, the circumference of the earth is somewhat more than that. And in order to have 
a clearer understanding of the matter, I use the folloAving demonstration : Let there be 
imagined a great spliere and about the point calle<l the center another smaller sphere. 
Then from different parts of the great sphere-let lines be drawn meeting at the center. 
It is clear that by this means the two spheres will be divided into an equal number of 
l^arts having the same relation to each other; but between the divisions on the smaller 
sphere the absolute space will be less. Now the great sphere represents the heavens 
and the smaller sphere the earth. But the firmament is divided by astronomers into 
twelve Signs, and each Sign into thirty degrees, making three hundred and sixty de- 
grees in all. On the surface of the earth there will be of course, divisions exactly cor- 
responding to those of the celestial sphere, every line, degree and zone of the latter 
answering to a line, degree or zone of tlie former. And now know well tliat according 
to the authors of astronomy''^ seven hundred furlongs, or eighty -seven miles and four fur- 
longs, answer to a degree of the firmament. Multiplying eighty-seven and a half miles 
by three hundred and sixty — the number of degrees in the firmament — we have thirty- 
one thousand five hundred English miles. And this according to my belief and dem- 
onstration is the true measurement of the circumference of the earth. 

='•■■ An everlasting shame be to the " oleic wise Astronomcres " ! If they had given Sir John the cor- 
rect measurement of a degree of latitude, he would not have missed the circumference of the world 
by as much as ten miles! His argument is absolutely correct. This, too, in A. D. 1356. 



APPEI^TDIX B. 



THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT. 

/// yc name of God, Ajjien : 

We whofe names are underwritten, the Loyal SubjecSls of our 
dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God of Great Brit- 
ain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c., &c., Hav- 
ing' undertaken for the Glory of God and the advancement of the 
Chriftian Faith, and Honor of our King and Country, a Voyage to 
plant the firfl Colony in the Northern parts of Virginia ; Do by thefe 
Prefents, folemnly and mutually, in the Prefence of God and of one 
another, Covenant and Combine ourfelves together into a Civil body 
Politic, for our better Ordering and Prefervation, and Furtherance of 
"the ends aforefaid ; and by Virtue hereof, to ena6l, conftitute, and 
frame jufh and equal laws, ordinances, A61s, Conftitutions, and Offices 
from Time to Time, as fhall be thought moft meet and convenient for 
the General Good of the Colony ; unto which we Promife all due 
Submiffion and Obedience. 

In witnefs whereof we have hereunder fubfcribed our Names at 
Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the year of the Reign of our 
Sovereign Lord, King James, of England, France, and Ireland the 
Eighteenth, and of Scotland the Fifty-fourth, Anno Domini, 1620. 




cwrA-^ ^ou^A»«A Xf^^'v^'^ c^j^^^xftf^ 



37 



577 



APPENDIX C. 



A PLAN OF PERPETUAL UNION, 

FOR 

HIS majesty's colonies in NOKTH A3IERICA: 
PEOPOSED BY BENJ. FEANKLIN, 

AND 

Adopted by the Coloxial Conyention at Albany, July IOtii, 1754. 

[This document will be found of special interest as containing the germ of tlie 
Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States. It should be 
remembered that this "Plan of Union," though adopted by the Congress at Albany — 
only the delegates from Connecticut dissenting — was rejected both by the colonial 
assemblies and the British Board of Trade, — by the former as being too despotic a 
constitution and by the latter as a piece of high-handed presumption. — The Author.] 

That the general government of His Majesty's Colonies in North America be 
administered by a President-General, to be appointed and supported by the crown ; and 
a Grand Council, to be chosen by the representatives of the people of the several colonies 
met in their respective Assemblies; 

Who shall meet for the first time at the city of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, being 
called by the President-General as soon as conveniently may be after his appointment; 

Tliat there shall be a new election of the members of the Grand Council every three 
years; and on the death or resignation of any member, his place should be supplied by a 
new choice at the next sitting of the Assembly of the colony he represented ; 

That after the first three years, when the proportion of money arising out of each 
colony to the general treasury can be known, the number of members to be chosen for 
each colony shall from time to time, in all ensuing elections, be regulated by that propor- 
tion, yet so as that the number to be chosen by any one province be not more than seven, 
nor less than two ; 

That the Grand Council shall meet once in every year, and oftener if occasion require, 
at such time and place as they shall adjourn to at the last preceding meeting, or as they 
shall be called to meet at by the President-General on any emergency ; he having fii-st 
obtained in writing the consent of seven of the members to such call, and sent due and 
timely notice to the whole ; 

That the Grand Council have power to choose their speaker; and .shall neither be 
dissolved, prorogued, nor continued sitting longer than six weeks at one time, without 
their own consent or the special command of the crown ; 

That the members of the Grand Council shall be allowed for their service ten shil- 
lings per diem, during their session and journey to and from the place of meeting; twenty 
miles to be reckoned a day's journey ; 

That the assent of the President-General be requisite to all acts of the Grand 
Council, and that it be his office and duty to cause them to be carried into execution ; 

That the President-General, with the advice of the Grand Council, hold or direct all 

578 



APPENDIX C. 579 

Indian treaties, in wliicli the general interest of the colonies may be concerned; and 
make peace or declare war with Indian nations ;. 

That they make sncli laws as they judge necessary for regulating all Indian trade; 

Tliat they make all purchases, from Indians for the crown, of lands not now within 
the bounds of particular colonies, or that shall not be within their bounds, when some of 
them are reduced to more convenient dimensions ; 

That they make new settlements on such purchases, by granting lands in the king's 
name, reserving a quit-rent to the crown for the use of the general treasury ; 

That they make laws for regulating and governing such new settlements, till the 
crown shall think fit to form them into particular governments; 

Tliat they raise and pay soldiers and build forts for the defence of any of the colo- 
nies, and equip vessels of force to guard the coasts and protect the trade on the ocean, 
lakes, or great rivers; but they shall not impress men in any colony, without the consent 
of the legislature ; 

That for these purposes they have power to make laws, and lay and levy such 
general duties, imposts, or taxes, as to them shall appear most equal and just (considering 
tlie ability and other circumstances of the inhabitants in the several colonies,) and such 
as may be collected with the least inconvenience to the people; rather discouraging luxury, 
than loading industry with unnecessary burthens; 

That they may appoint a General Treasurer and Particular Treasurer in each gov- 
ernment, when necessary; and from time to time may order the sums in the treasuries of 
each government into the general treasury, or draw on them for special payments, as they 
find most convenient ; 

Yet no money to issue but by joint orders of the President-General and Grand 
Council ; except whei-e sums have been appropriated to particular purposes, and 
the President-General is previously empowered by an act to draw such sums; 

That the general accounts shall be yearly settled and reported to the several 
Assemblies ; 

That a quorum of the Grand Council, empowered to act with the President-General, 
do consist of twenty-five members; among whom there shall be one or more from a ma- 
jority of the colonies ; 

That the laws made by tliem for the purposes aforesaid shall not be repugnant, but, 
as near as may be, agreeable to the laws of England, and shall be transmitted to the 
King in CounciTfor approbation, as soon as may be after their passing; and if not disap- 
proved within three years after presentation, to remain in force; 

Tliat, in case of the death of the President-General, the Speaker of the Grand Council 
for the time being shall succeed, and be vested with the same powers and authorities to 
continue till the King's pleasure be know; 

That all military commission officers, whether for land or sea service, to act under 
this general constitution, shall be nominated by the President-General ; but the appro- 
bation of the Grand Council is to be obtained, before they receive their commissions; and 
all civil officers are to be nominated by the Grand Council, and to receive the President- 
General's approbation before they officiate; 

But, in case of vacancy by death or removal of any officer civil or military under 
tliis constitution, the Governor of the province in which such vacancy happens, may 
appoint, till the pleasure of the President-General and Grand Council can be known ; 

That the particular military as well as civil establishments in each colony remain 
in their present state, the general constitution notwithstanding; and that on sudden 
emergencies any colony may defend itself; and lay the accounts of expense thence 
arising before the President-General and General Council, who may allow and order 
payment of the same, as far as they judge such accounts just and reasonable. 



APPEl^DIX D. 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 

Adopted by Coxgress, July 4, 1776. 



A DECLARATION EY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF 
AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve 
the political bands M-hich have connected them with another, and to assume among the 
powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitle tliem, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they 
should declare the causes which impel tliem to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they 
are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are insti- 
tuted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed ; that, 
whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the 
people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on 
such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that govern- 
ments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accord- 
ino-ly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more di^-posed to siiffer, wliile evils 
are sufTcrable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accus- 
tomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is 
their duty, to throw off such a government, and to provide new guards for their future 
security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the 
necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history 
of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all 
having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these States. To 
prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world :— 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the public 
good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, 
unless suspended in their operations, till his assent should be obtained; and, when so 
suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, 
unless those jieople would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature; a 
right inestimable to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and dis- 
tant from the repository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them 
into compliance with his measures. 

580 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 581 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing, with manly fu'mness, 
his invasions on the rights of the people. 

Pie has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; 
whereby the legislative powers, incapable of anniliilation, have returned to the people at 
large, for their exercise; tlie State remaining, in the mean-time, exposed to all the dan- 
gers of invasions from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavoi'ed to prevent the population of these States ; for that purpose, 
obstructing the laws for the naturalization of foreigners ; refusing to pass others to 
encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations 
of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his as.sent to laws for 
establishing judiciary powers. 

He luxs made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and 
the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers, to harass 
our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the consent of 
our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and supei-ior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our consti- 
tution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended 
legislation : — 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; 

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they 
should commit on the inhabitants of these States; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences ; 

For abolishing the free .system of English laws in a neighboiing province, establish- 
ing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at 
once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these 
Colonies ; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering, funda- 
mentally, the powers of our governments; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power 
to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging 
war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed 
the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the 
works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and 
perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of 
a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the higli seas, to bear arms 
against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall 
themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on 
the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of war- 
fare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 



582 APPENDIX D. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most hum- 
ble terms; our repeated petitions have been answered by repeated injury. A prince 
wliose character is thus marlied by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be 
the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. "We have warned 
them, from time to time, of attem^jts by their legislature to extend an unwarranlable 
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and 
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we 
have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurijations, 
which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, too, have 
been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in 
the necessity, wliich denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of 
mankind, enemies in war; in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the re2:>resentatives of the United States of America, in general 
congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the Avorld for the rectitude of 
our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of these Colo- 
nies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to 
be, Free and Independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British 
crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, 
and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as Free and Independent States, they have 
full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do 
all other acts and things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support 
of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we 
mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

John Hancock. 

New Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton. 

Masschusetts Bay. — Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge 
Gerry. 

Rhode Island, etc. — Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. 

Connecticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver 
Wolcott. 

New York. — William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis ^lorris. 

New Jersey. — Ricliard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John 
Hart, Abraham Clark. 

Pennsylvania. — Roljert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franlclin, John Morton, 
George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. 

Delaware. — Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas M'Kean. 

Maryland. — Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of 
Carrollton. 

Virginia. — George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefl^erson, Benjamin Har- 
rison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Liglitfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina. — William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn. 

South Carolina. — Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hayward, Jr., Tliomas Lynch, Jr., 
Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia. — Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. 



APPENDIX E. 



AETICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

[The Articles of Confederation were drawn up by a committee of gentlemen, who 
were appointed by Congress for this purpose, June 12, 177G, and finally adopted, No- 
vember 15, 1777. The committee were Messrs. Bartlett, Samuel Adams, Hopkins, Sher- 
man, R. E. Livingston, Dickinson, M'Kean, Stone, Nelson, Howes, E. Rutledge, and 
Gwinnet.] 

AETICLES OF CONFEDEEATION AND PEEPETUAL UNION. 

Between the States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plan- 
tations, Connecticut, New York, Neiv Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, 
No7'th Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

ARTICLE I. 

The style of this confederacy shall be, " Thk United States of America." 

ARTICLE II. 

Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, 
jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this confederation expressly delegated to the United 
States in Congress assembled. 

ARTICLE III. 

The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each 
other, for their common defence, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and 
general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other against all force ofTered to, or 
attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or 
any other pretence whatever. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. — The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and intercourse 
among the people of the difTerent States in this union, the free inhabitants of each of 
tlipse States — paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted — shall be entitled 
to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States; and the people of 
each State shall have free ingress and egress to and from any other State, and shall 
enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, subject to the same duties, 
impositions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants thereof respectively; provided, that 
such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported 
into any State, to any other State, of which the owner is an inhabitant; provided also, 
that no imposition, duties, or restriction, shall be laid by any State on the property of 
the L^nited States, or either of tliem. 

Sec. 2. — If any pei'son, guilty of, or cliarged with treason, felony, or other high 
misdemeanor, in any State, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of the LTnited 
States, he shall, upon the demand of the Governor or executive power of the State 
from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the State having jurisdiction of his 
oflTence. p„ 



584 APPENDIX E. 

Sec. 3. Full faith and credit shall be given, in each of these States, to the records, 
acts, and judicial i^roceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other State. 

ARTICLE V. 

Section 1. — For the more convenient management of the general interests of the 
United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner as the legislature 
of each State shall direct, to meet in Congress on the first Monday in November in every 
year, with a power reserved to each State to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any 
time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the year. 

Sec. 2. — No State shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor more than 
seven members ; and no person shall be capable of being a delegate for more than three 
years, in any term of six years; nor shall any person, being a delegate, be capable of 
holding any office under the United States, for which he, or any other for his benefit, 
receives any salary, fees, or emolument, of any kind. 

Sec. 3. — Each State shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the States, and 
while they act as members of the committee of these States. 

Sec. 4. — In determining questions in the United States in Congress assembled, each 
State shall have one vote. 

Sec. 5. — Freedom of si^eech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or 

questioned in any court or place out of Congress, and the members of Congress shall be 

protected in their persons from arrests and imprisonments during the time of their 

going to and from, and attendance on Congress, except for treason, felony, or breach of 

the peace. 

article VI. 

Section 1. — No State, without the consent of the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, or enter into any confer- 
ence, agreement, alliance, or treaty with any king, prince, or State, nor shall any person 
holding any office of i^rofit or trust under the United States, or any of them, accept of 
any present, emolument, office, or. title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or 
foreign state; nor shall the United States in Congress assembled, or any of them, grant 
any title of nobility. 

Sec. 2. — No two or more States shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or alli- 
ance whatever, between them, without the consent of the United States in Congress 
assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the same is to be entered into, 
and how long it shall continue. 

Sec. 3. — No State shall lay any imposts or duties which may interfere with any 
stipulations in treaties entered into by the United Slates in Congress assembled, with any 
king, prince, or State, in pursuance of any treaties already proposed by Congress to the 
courts of France and Spain. 

Sec. 4. — No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any State, except 
such number only as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in Congress assem- 
bled, for the defence of such State, or its trade; nor shall any. body of forces be kept up 
by any State, in time of peace, except such number only as, in the judgment of the United 
States in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison the forts necessary for 
the defence of such Slate; but every State shall always keep up a well-regulated and 
disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and shall provide and constantly 
have ready for use, in public stores, a due number of field-pieces and tents, and a proper 
quantity of arms, ammunition, and camp equipage. 

Sec. 5. — No State shall engage in any war Avithout the consent of the United States 
in Congress assembled, unless such State be actually invaded by enemies, or shall have 
received certain advice of a resolution being formed by some nation of Indians to invade 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 585 

such State, and the danger is so imminent as not to admit of delay till the United States 
in Congress assembled can be consulted ; nor shall any State grant commissions to any 
ships or vessels of war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after a declaration 
of war by tlie United States in Congress assembled, and then only against the kingdom 
or State, and the subjects thereof, against wliich war has been so declared, and under such 
regulations as shall be established by the United States in Congress assembled, unless 
such State be infested by pirates, in which case vessels of war may be fitted out for that 
occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the United States in 
Congress assembled shall determine otherwise. 

ARTICLE VII. 

When land forces are raised by any State for the common defence, all officers of or 
under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by the legislature of each State respect- 
ively by whom such forces shall be raised, or in such manner as such State shall direct, 
and all vacancies shall be filled up by the State which first made the appointment. 

ARTICLE VIIL 

All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred for the common 
defence or general welfare, and allowed by the United States in Congress assembled, 
shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, which shall be supplied by the several 
States, in i)roportion to the value of all land within each State, granted to or surveyed 
for any person, as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be esti- 
mated, according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled sliall, from 
time to time, direct and aiDpoint. The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid 
and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several States within 
the time agi'eed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. 

ARTICLE IX. 

Section 1. — The United States in Congress assembled shall have the sole and 
exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, except in the cases men- 
tioned in the sixth article, of sending and receiving ambassadors; entering into treaties 
and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made, whereby the legisla- 
tive power of the respective States shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and 
duties on foreigners, as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the 
exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities whatsoever; of 
establishing rules fur deciding in all cases what captures on land or water shall be legal, 
and in what manner prizes taken by land or naval forces in the service of the United 
States shall be divided or approjjriated ; of granting letters of marque and reprisal in 
times of peace; appointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on 
the high seas; and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals in 
all cases of capture; provided that no member of Congress shall be appointed a judge 
of any of the said courts. 

Sec. 2. — The United States in Congress assembled shall also be the last resort on 
appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that hereafter may arise between 
two or more States concerning boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever; 
•which authority shall always be exercised in the manner following: "Whenever the 
legislative or executive authority or lawful agent of any State in controversy with 
another, shall present a petition to Congress, stating the matter in question, and pray- 
ing for a hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress to tlie legislative 
or executive authority of the other State in controversy, and a day assigned for the 
appearance of the parties by their lawful agents, who shall then be directed to appoint. 



586 APPENDIX E. 

by joint consent, commissionfirs or judges to constitute a court for hearing and deter- 
mining the matter in question; but if they can not agree, Congress shall name three 
persons out of each of the United States, and from the list of such persons each party 
shall alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning, until the number shall be 
reduced to thirteen ; and from that number not less than seven, nor more than nine 
names, as Congress shall direct, shall, in the presence of Congress, be drawn out by lot ; 
and the persons whose names shall be so drawn, or any five of them, shall be commis- 
sioners or judges to liear and finally determine the controversy, so always as a major 
part of the judges, who shall hear the cause, shall agree in the determination : and if 
either jiarty shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons 
which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present, shall refuse to strike, the Con- 
gress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each State, and the secretary of 
Congress shall strike in behalf of such party absent or refusing ; and the judgment and 
sentence of the court, to be ajjpointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be final 
and conclusive ; and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such 
court, or to appear or defend tlieir claim or cause, the court sJiall nevertheless proceed 
to pronouncesentence, or judgment, which sliall in like manner be final and decisive; the 
judgment or sentence and other proceedings being in either case transmitted to Congress, 
and lodged among the acts of Congress, for the security of the parties concerned : pro- 
vided that every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath, to be 
administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the State where the 
cause shall be tried, "well and truly to hear and determine the matter in question, according 
to the best of his judgment, witliout favor, affection, or hope of reward." Provided, also, 
that no State shall be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States. 

Sec. 3. — All controversies concerning the private riglit of soil claimed under dif- 
ferent grants of two or more States, whose jurisdiction, as they may respect such lands, 
and the States which passed such grants are adjusted, the said grants or either of them 
being at the same time claimed to have originated antecedent to such settlement of 
jurisdiction, shall, on the petition of either party to the Congress of the United States, 
be finally determined, as near as may be, in the same manner as is before prescribed for 
deciding disputes respecting territorial, jurisdiction between different States. 

Sec. 4. — The United States in Congress assembled shall also have tlie sole and 
exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck by their own 
authority, or by that of tlie respective States; fixing the standard of weights and meas- 
ures throughout the United States; regulating the trade, and managing all affairs with 
the Indians, not members of any of the States; provided that the legislative right of 
any State, within its own limits, be not infringed or violated; establishing and regu- 
lating post offices from one State to another throughout all the United States, and 
exacting such postage on the papers passing through the same, as may be requisite to 
defray the expenses of the said office; appointing all officers of the land forces in the 
service of tiie United States, excepting regimental officers; appointing all the officei-s 
of the naval forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of the United 
States; making rules for the government and regulation of the said land and naval 
forces, and directing their operations. 

Sec. 5.— The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to apiDoint 
a committee to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated, "J. Committee of the 
States," and to consist of one delegate from each State ; and to appoint such other com- 
mittees and civil officers as may be necessary for managing the general affiiirs of the 
United States under their direction; to appoint one of their number to preside; pro- 
vided that no per.son be allowed to serve In the office of president more than one year 
in any term of three years ; to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for 



ARTICLES OF COXFEDERATIOX. 587 

the service of tlie United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for defraying 
the public expenses; to borrow money or emit bills on tlie credit of the United States, 
ti'ansmitting every half-year to the respective States an account of the sums of money 
so borrowed or emitted ; to build and equip a navy ; to agree upon the number of land 
forces, and to make requisitions from each State for its quota, in proportion to the 
number of white inhabitants in such State, which requisition shall be binding; and 
thereupon the legislature of each State shall appoint the regimental officers, raise the 
men, clothe, arm, and equij) "them, in a syldier-like manner, at llie expense of the 
United States; and the officers and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march 
to tlie place appointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress 
assembled ; but if the United States in Congress assembled shall, on consideration of 
circumstances, judge jaroper that any State should not raise men, or should raise a 
smaller number than its quota, and that any other State should raise a greater number 
of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall be raised, officered, clothed, 
armed, and equipped, in the same manner as the quota of such State, unless the legis- 
lature of such State shall judge that such extra number can not be safely spared out of 
the same, in which case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip, as many of such 
extra number as they judge can be safely spared, and the officers and men so clothed, 
armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, and within the time agreed 
on by the United States in Congress assembled. 

Sec. 6. — The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a war, nor 
grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into any treaties or 
alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, nor ascertain the sums and 
expenses necessary for the defence and welfare of the United States, or any of them, 
nor emit bills, nor borrow money on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate 
money, nor agree upon the number of vessels of war to be built or purchased, or the 
number of land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander-in-chief of the 
army or naVy, unless nine States assent to the same : nor shall a question on any other 
point, except for adjourning from day to day, be determined, unless by the votes of a 
majority of the United States in Congress assembled. 

Sec. 7. — The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any 
time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that no period of 
adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six months, and shall publish 
the journal of their proceedings monthly, except such parts thereof relating to treaties, 
alliances, or military operations, as in their judgment require secrecy ; and the yeas 
and nays of the delegates of each State, on any question, shall be entered on the journal, 
wlien it is desired by any delegate ; and the delegates of a State, or any of them, at his 
or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript of the said journal, except such 
parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legislatures of the several States. 

AETICLE X. 

The Committee of the States, or any nine of them, shall be authorized to execute^ 
in the recess of Congress, such of the powers of Congress as the United States, in Con- 
gress assembled, by the consent of nine States, shall, from time to time, think expedient 
to vest them with ; provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the 
exercise of which, by the Articles of Confederation, the voice of nine States, in the 
Congress of the United States assembled, is requisite. 

ARTICLE XI. 

Canada, acceding to this Confederation, and joining in the measures oi the United 
States, shall be admitted into and entitled to all the advantages of this Union: But 



588 APPENDIX K 

no other colony shall be admitted into the same, unless such admission be agreed to "by 

nine States. 

ARTICLE xn. 

All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts contracted by or under the 
authority of Congress, before the assembling of the United States, in pursuance of the 
present Confederation, shall be deemed and considered as a charge against the United 
States, for payment and satisfaction whereof the said United States and the public faith 
are hereby solemnly pledged. 

ARTICLE Xni. 

Every State shall abide by the determination of the United States in Congress 
assembled, in all questions which by this Confederation are submitted to them. And 
the articles of this Confederation shall be inviolably observed by every State, and 
the union shall be perpetual; nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in 
any of them ; unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, 
and be afterwards conlirmed by the legislature of every State. 

And whereas it hath pleased tlie great Governor of the world to incline the hearts 
of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress to approve of, and to authorize 
us to ratify the said Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, Know ye, that we, 
the undersigned delegates, by virtue of the power and authority to us given for that 
purpose, do by these presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, 
fully and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said Articles of Confed- 
eration and Perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters and things therein con- 
tained. And we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith of our respective 
constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations of tlie United States in Con- 
gress assembled, in all questions which by the said Confederation are submitted to 
them; and that the articles thereof shall be inviolably observed by the States we 
respectively represent, and that tlie union shall be perpetual In witness whereof we 
have hereunto set our hands in Congress. 

Done at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, the 9th day of July, in the year of our Lord 
1778, and in the third year of the Independence of America. 

New Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, John Wentworth, Jr. 

Massachusetts Bay. — John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Elbridge Gerry, Francis 
Dana, James Lovel, Samuel Holton. 

Rhode Island, etc. — William Ellery, Henry Marchant, John Collins. 

Conxecticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, Oliver Wolcott, Titus Hos- 
mer, Andrew Adams. 

New York. — James Duane, Francis Lewis, William Duer, Gouverneur ]Morris. 

New Jersey. — John Witlierspoon, Nath. Scudder. 

Pennsylvania. — Robert Morris, Daniel Roberdeau, .Jona Bayard Smith, William 
Clingan, Joseph Reed. 

Delaware. — Thomas M'Kean, John Dickinson, Nicholas Van Dyke. 

Maryland. — John Hanson, Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia. — Richard Henry Lee, John Banister, Thomas Adams, John Harvie, 
Francis Lightfoot Lee. 

North Carolina. — John P^nn, Cons. Harnett, .John Williams. 

South Carolina.— Henry Laurens, Wm. Henry Drayton, John Matthews, Richard 
Hutson, Thomas Heyward, .Jr. 

Georgia. — John Walton, Edward Telfair, Edward Lang worthy. 



appejstdix r. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

"VVe, the People of the United vStates, in order to form a more perfect union, establish 
Justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote tlie gen- 
eral welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain 
and establish this Constitution for the United States of ^orth America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section 1. — All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Eepre- 
sentatives. 

Sec. 2. — The House of Eepresentatives shall be composed of members chosen 
every second year by tlie people of the several States, and the electors in each State 
shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the 
State legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the age of 
twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall 
not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. 

Eepresentatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States 
which may be included within this Union, according to their respective numbers, which 
shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those 
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of 
all other persons. The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the 
first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 
ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of representatives 
shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand ; but each State shall have at least one 
representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hamiashire 
shall be entitled to choose three, Massachusetts, eight, Ehode Island and Providence 
Plantations, one, Connecticut, five. New York, six, New Jersey, four, Pennsylvania, 
eight, Delaware, one, Maryland, six, Virginia, ten. North Carolina, five, South Carolina, 
five, and Georgia, tliree. 

When vacancies liappen in the representation from any State, the executive 
authority thereof sliall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The House of Eepresentatives shall choose their sj^eaker and other officers ; and 
shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. 3. — The Senate of tlie United States shall be composed of two senators from 
each State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; and each senator shall have 
one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first election, 
they shall be divided, as equally as may be, into three classes. The seats of the 
senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the 

589 



590 APPENDIX F. 

second class, at the exiilration of the fourth year, and of the third class at the expira- 
tion of the sixth year, so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if 
vacancies happen, by resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of 
any State, the executive thereof may make tempiorary appointments until the next 
meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, 
and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be 
an inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be president of the Senate, but shall 
have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a president pro tanpore, in the 
absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise the office as President of the 
United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for 
that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmatian. When the President of the United 
States is tried, the chief-justice shall preside ; and no person sliall be convicted without 
the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to removal from 
office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under 
the United States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to 
indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment, according to law. 

Sec. 4. — The times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and rep- 
resentatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; but the Con- 
gress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the places 
of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year; and such meeting 
shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a dif- 
ferent day. 

Sec. 5. — Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications 
of its own members; and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; 
but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel 
the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each 
house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for 
disorderly behavior, and, witli the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish 
the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas 
and nays of tlie members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of one- 
fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the 
other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the 
two houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. — The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for tlieir 
services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. 
They shall, in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged 
from arrest during their attendance on the session of their respective houses, and in 
going to and returning from the same; and, for any speech or debate in either house, 
they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be 
appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States which shall have 
been created, or the emoluments wliereof shall have been increased, during such time; 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 591 

and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either 
house during his continuance in office. 

Sec. 7. — All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Eepresenta- 
tives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Kepresentatives and the Senate, 
shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he 
approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections, to that house 
in wliich it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their 
journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that 
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and, if approved by two-thirds 
of that house, it shall become a law. But, in all such cases, the votes of both houses 
shall be determined by yeas and nays ; and the names of the persons voting for and 
against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill 
shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall 
have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed 
it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in wliich case it shall 
not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of the Senate and House 
of Kepresentatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment), shall be 
presented to the President of the United States; and, before tlie same shall take effect, 
shall be approved by him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two- 
thirds of the Senate and House of Eepresentatives, according to the rules and limita- 
tions prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 8. — Tlie Congress shall have power :— 

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide 
for the common defence and general welfare, of the United States ; but all duties, 
imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States: 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States : 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and 
with the Indian tribes : 

To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on tlie subject of 
bankruptcies throughout the United States: 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard 
of weights and measures: 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of 
the United States : 

To establish post-offices and post-roads : 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited 
times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and 
discoveries : 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court : 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and 
offences against the law of nations : 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning 
captures on land and water : 

To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be 
for a longer term than two years : 

To provide and maintain a navy : 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces : 



592 APPENDIX F. 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress 
insurrections, and repel invasions : 

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing 
such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States, reserving to 
the States respectively, the appointment of tlie officers, and the authority of training 
the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress: 

To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not 
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular States, and the acceptance 
of Congress, become the seat of government of the United States, and to exercise like 
authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the State in 
which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
other needful buildings : — And 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution 
the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the govern- 
ment of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

Sec. 9. — The migration or importation of such persons, as any of the States now 
existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight; but a tax, or duty, may be imposed on 
such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in 
cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census, 
or enumeration, hereinbefoi'e directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State. No preference 
shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over 
those of another ; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to enter, clear, 
or pay duties, in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations 
made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of 
all ])ublic money shall be publislied from time time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States ; and no person holding 
any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, 
accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, 
prince, or foreign state. 

Sec. 10. — No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant 
letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills of credit; make any thing 
but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, 
er 2')ost facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of 
nobility. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on 
imports or exports, except Avhat may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspec- 
tion laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts laid by any State on imports 
or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all such laws 
shall be subject to the revision and control of the Congress. No State shall, without 
the consent of Congress, lay any duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time 
of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State or with a foreign 
power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will 
not admit of delay. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 593 



ARTICLE II. 

Section l.^The executive power sliall be vested in a President of the United 
States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and together 
with the Vice-President, chosen for tlie same term, be elected as follows : — 

Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may direct, a 
number of electors equal to the whole number of senators and representatives to 
which the State may be entitled in the Congress ;, but no senator or representative, or 
person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed 
an elector. 

The electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by ballot for two per- 
sons, of whom one, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of tlie same State with them- 
selves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat 
of the government of the United States, directed to the president of tlie Senate. The 
president of the Senate sliall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates; and the votes shall then be counted. Tlie person having the 
greatest number of votes shall be the President, if sucii number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have such 
majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the House of Eepresentatives shall 
immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for President ; and if no person have a 
majority, then, from the five highest on the list, the said house shall, in like manner, 
choose tlie President. But, in choosing the Pi'esident, the votes shall be taken by 
States; the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States; and a majority of 
all the States shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the 
President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be Vice- 
President. But, if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate 
shall choosefrom them, by ballot, the Vice-Px-esident. 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on 
which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the United 
States. 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of tlie United States at the 
time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; 
neither shall any person be eligible to that office wiio shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or 
inability to discharge the powers or duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on 
the Vice-Pi"esident ; and the Congress may, by law, provide for the case of removal, 
death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring 
what officer shall then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly, until 
the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his .services a compensation, which 
shall neither be increased nor diminislied during the period for which he shall have 
been elected ; and he shall- not receive within that period any other emolument from 
the United States or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the following oath or 
affirmation : — 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of Pres- 
ident of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and 
defend the Constitution of the United States." 
38 



594 APPENDIX F. 

Sec. 2. — The President shall be commander-in-chief of the array and navy of the 
United States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into tlie actual sei'vice 
of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in 
each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their 
resiiective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences 
against tlie United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make 
treaties, provided two-tiiirds of the senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and 
by and with tlie advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint, ambassadors, other 
public ministers, and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the 
United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which 
shall be established bylaw: but the Congress may, by law,, vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, 
or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during 
the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions, which shall expire at the end of 
their next session. 

Sec. 3. — He sliall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of tlie state 
of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge 
necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or 
either of them, and, in case of disagreement between them with respect to the time 
of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall 
receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed; and shall commission all the officers of the United States. 

gEc. 4. — The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the United States, 
shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, 
or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

AETICLE III. 

Section 1. — Tlie judicial power of the United States shall be vested in a Supreme 
Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and 
establish. The judges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices 
durinf o-ood behavior; and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compen- 
sation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. 

Sec. 2.— The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising 
under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which 
shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to contro- 
versies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or 
more States, between a State and citizens of another State, between citizens of different 
States, between citizens of the same State claiming lands under grants of different 
States, and between a State, or the citizens thereof, and foreign States, citizens, or 
subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in 
which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In 
all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdic- 
tion both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the 
Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, sliall be by jury; and 
such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 595 

but, -when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as 
the Congress may by law have directed. 

Sec. 3. — Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against 
them, or in adhering to tlieir enemies, giving them aid and comfort. Xo person shall 
be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, 
or on ct)nfession in open court. 

The Congress shall liave power to declare the punishment of treason, but no 
attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture, except durin^^ 
, the life of tlie person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. — Full faith and credit sliall be given in each State to tlie public acts, 
records, and judicial proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by gen- 
eral laws prescribe tlie manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings sliall be 
proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec. 2. — The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities 
of citizens in the several States. 

A person cliarged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime, who shall flee 
from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority 
of the State from whicli he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one State under the laws thereof, escaping 
into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged 
from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to Avhom 
such service or labor may be due. 

Sec. 3. — New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union ; but 
no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; 
nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, 
without the consent of the legislature of the States concerned, as well as of the 
Congress. 

Tiie Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regu- 
lations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States; and 
nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 
United States, or of any particular State. 

Sec. 4. — The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a repub- 
lican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion ; and on 
application of the legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature ca,n not be 
convened), against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of botli houses shall deem it necessary, shall 
propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on tlie application of the legislatures of 
two-tliirds of the several States, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, 
Avliich, in either case, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of this Consti- 
tution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, or by con- 
ventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be 
proposed by the Congress; Provided, that no amendment, whicli may be made prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any manner affect the first and 
fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no State, without its 
consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 



596 APPENDIX F. 



ARTICLE VI. 

All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before the adoption of this Con- 
stitution, shall be as valid against the United States under tliis Constitution, as under 
the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursu- 
ance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the 
United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and llie judges in every State shall 
be bound thereby, any thing in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary not- 
withstanding. 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several 
State legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of, the United States 
and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to supjiort this Con- 
stitution ; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office 
or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE Vn. 

The ratification of the conventions of nine States shall be sufficient for the estab- 
lishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same. 

Done in Convention by the unanimous consent of the States present, the seventeenth day of Sep 
tember, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness lohereof we have 
hereunto subscribed our names. 

George Washington, President, 

and Deputy from Virginia. 

New Hampshire. — .John Langdon, Nicholas Oilman. 

Massachusetts. — Nathaniel Gorham, Paifus King. 

Connecticut. — William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman. 

New York. — Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. — AVilliam Livingston, David Bearly, William Patterson, Jonathan 
Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. — Benjamin Franldin, Thomas Mifflin, Robert Morris, Geoi-ge Cly- 
mer, Thomas Fitzsimons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris. 

Delaware. — George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bas- 
se tt, Jacob Broom. 

Maryland. — James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. 

Virginia. — John Blair, .James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina. — William Blount, Richard Dobbs Spaight, Hugh Williamson. 

South Carolina. — John Rutledge, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Charles Pinck- 
ney, Pierce Butler. ' 

Georgia. — AVilliam Few, Abraham Baldwin. 

Attest : 

William Jackson, Secretary. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 597 



AMEXDME^^TS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE I. 



Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting 
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the 
right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of 
grievances. 



ARTICLE II. 



A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of 
the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 



ARTICLE III. 



No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent 
of the owner ; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 



ARTICLE IV. 

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, 
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ; and no wan-ants 
shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly 
describing the place to be searched, and the jierson or things to be seized. 

ARTICLE V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless 
on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising i« the land or 
naval forces, or in the militia Avhen in actual service in time of war or public danger; 
nor shall any person be subject, for the same offence, to be twice put in jeopardy of life 
or limb; nor shall be conii)elled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; 
nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall pri- 
vate property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

ARTICLE VI. 

In all criminal prosecutions, tlie accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and 
public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have 
been committed, which district sliall have been previously ascertained by law; and fo 
be informeil of the nature and cause of tlie accusation ; to be confronted with the wit- 
nesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; 
and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. 

ARTICLE VII. 

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy slinll exceed twenty dollars, 
the right of trial by jury shall be preserved ; and no fact tried by a jury shall be other- 
wise re-examined in any court of the United States than according to the rules of the 
common law. 



598 APPENDIX F. 



ARTICLE VIII. 



Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 
unusual punishments inflicted. 



ARTICLE IX. 



The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to 
deny or disparage others retained by the people. 



ARTICLE X. 



The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited 
by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. 



ARTICLE XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be con.strued to extend to any suit 
in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens 
of another State, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 

ARTICLE XJI, 

The electors shall meet in tlieir respective States, and vote by ballot for President 
and Vice-President, one of wliom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State 
with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and 
in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct 
lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, 
and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit 
sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the 
Senate ; the president of the Senate shall, in the presence erf the Senate and House of 
Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted ; the per- 
son having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such 
number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have 
such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three 
on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives sliall choose 
immediately, by ballot, the President. But, in choosing the President, the votes shall 
be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for 
this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a 
majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Repre- 
sentatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon 
them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act 
as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the Pres- 
ident. 

The person having the greatest number of votes as A'^ice-President, shall be the 
Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed ; 
and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the 
Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two- 
thirds of the whole number of senators, and a majority of the Avhole number sliall be 
necessary to a choice. 

But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President, shall be eligible 
to that of Vice-President of the United States. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 599 



ARTICLE XIII. . 

Section 1. — Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a i)uni.sliment for 
crime, whereof the parly shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United 
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. 

Sec. 2. — Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate leg- 
islation. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

Section 1. — All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to 
the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of tlie State wherein they 
reside. No State shall make or enforce any law whicli shall abridge the privileges 
or immunities of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any State deprive any person 
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within 
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

Sec. 2. — Eepresentatives shall be apportioned among the several States, according 
to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, 
excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for choice of 
electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, rejjresentatives in Con- 
gress, the executive and judicial officers of a State, or the members of the legislature 
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State being twenty-one years 
of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation 
in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in 
the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number 
of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State. 

Sec. 3. — No person shall be a senator, or representative in Congress, or elector of 
President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United 
States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath as a member of Con- 
gress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as 
an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of tlie United 
States, shall liave engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or 
comfort to the enemies thereof; but Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each 
house, remove such disability. ' 

Sec. 4. — The validity of the public debt of the United States authorized by law, 
including debts incurred for payment of pensions, and bounties for services in suppress- 
ing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States, 
nor any State, shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection 
or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any 
slave; but all such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 

Sec. 5. — The Congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate legislation the 
provisions of this Article. 

ARTICLE XV. 

Section 1. — The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied 
or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. 

Sec. 2. — The Congress shall have power to enforce this Article by appropriate 
legislation. 



APPENDIX G. 



WASHINGTON'S FAKEWELL ADDRESS. 

Friends and Fellow-Citizens : — 

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer tlie executive govennnent 
of tlie United States being not far distant, and tlie time actually arrived wlien your 
thoughts must be employed in designating the pei'son who is to be clothed with tliat 
important trust, it ajjpears to me proper, especially as it may conduce to a more dis- 
tinct expression of tlie public voice, that I should now api)rise you of the resolution I 
have formed, to decline being considered among the number of those out of whom a 
choice is to be made. 

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured that this resolution 
has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considerations appertaining to the 
relation whicli binds a dutiful citizen to his country; and that, in withdrawing the 
tender of service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am influenced by no 
diminution of zeal for your future interest; no deficiency of grateful respect for your 
past kindness; but am suj)porled by a full conviction that tiie step is comjiatible 
with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to whicli your suffrages 
have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of 
duty, and to a deference foi- what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that 
it would have been much earlier in my power, consistently with motives which I was 
not at liberty to disregard, to return to that retirement from which T had been reluc- 
tantly drawn. Tlie strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, 
had even led to the pre[)aration of an address to declare it to you; but mature reflec- 
tion on the then perplexed and critical posture of our affairs with foreign nations, and 
the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon 
the idea. 

I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as well as internal, no longer 
renders the pursuit of inclination incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety; 
and am persuaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, tliat, in the 
present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove of my determination to 
retire. 

The impressions witli which I first undertook the arduous trust were explained on 
the proper occasion. In tlie discharge of this trust, I will only say that I have, with 
good intentions, contributed towards the organization and administration of the gov- 
ernment the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment was capable. Not uncon- 
scious in the outset of the inferiority of any qualifications, experience, in my own eyes — 
perhaps still more in the eyes of others — has strengthened the motives to diffidence of 
myself; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me, more and more, 
that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it Avill be welcome. Satisfied that 
if any circumstances have given jjcculiar value to my services they were temporary, I 
GOO 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 601 

have the consolation to believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the 
political scene, iiatriotisiu does not forbid it. 

In looking forward to the moment which is intended to terminate the career of my 
public life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep acknowledgment of that 
debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has con- 
ferred u[jon me ; still more for the steadfast confidence with which it has supported me; 
and for the opportunities I have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attach- 
ment, by services faithful and persevering, tliougli in usefulness unequal to my zeal. 
If benefits have resulted to ovar country from these services, let it always be remembered 
to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, that, under circumstances 
in which the passions, agitated in every direction, were liable to mislead ; amidst 
appearances sometimes dubious, vicissitudes of fortune often discouraging; in situations 
in which, not unfrequently, want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism — 
the constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guarantee of 
the plans, by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated with this idea, I shall 
carry it with me to my grave, as a strong incitement to unceasing wishes, that Heaven 
may continue to you the choicest tokens of its beneficence ; that your union and broth- 
erly afTection may be perpetual ; that the free Constitution, which is the work of your 
liands, may be sacredly maintained ; that its administration, in every department, may 
be stamped witli wisdom and virtue ; that, in fine, the happiness of the people of these 
States, under the auspices of liberty, may be made complete, by so careful a preserva- 
tion and so prudent a use of this blessing as will acquire to them the glory of recom- 
mending it to the ajiplause, the affection, and adoption of every nation which is yet 
a stranger to it. 

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop; but a solicitude for your welfare, whicli can not 
end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger natural to that solicitude, urge 
me, on an occasion like the present, to offer to your .solemn contemplation, and to 
recommend to your frequent review, some sentiments which are the result of much 
reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, and which appear to me all-important to 
the permanency of your felicity as a people. These will be ofi"ered to you witli the 
more freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a parting 
friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his counsels; nor can I forget, 
as an encouragement to it, your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and 
not dissimilar occasion. 

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recom- 
mendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment. 

The Unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to 
you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence— 
the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad, of your safety, of your 
prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee 
that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many 
artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this is the 
point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal and external ene- 
mies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) 
directed— it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value 
of your National Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should 
cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accu.stoming yourselves 
to think and speak of it as the palladium of your political safety and prosperity; 
watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety ; discountenancing whatever may 
suggest even a suspicion tliat it can, in any event, be abandoned ; and indignantly 
frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our 



602 APPENDIX G. 

country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the 
various parts. 

For this you have every inducement of sympatliy and interest. Citizens by birth 
or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. 
The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always 
exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local dis- 
criminations. "With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, 
habits, and political principles. You have, in a common cause, fought and triumphed 
together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels and 
joint efforts — of common dangers, sufferings, and successes. 

But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your 
sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your 
interest : here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for 
carefully ^U'li'ding and preserving the union of the whole. 

The North, in an unrestrained intercourse with the South, protected by the equal 
laws of a common government, finds, in the productions of the latter, great additional 
resources of maritime and commei'cial enterprise, and jirecious materials of manu- 
facturing industry. The South, in the same intercourse, benefiting by the agency of 
the North, sees its agriculture grow, and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its 
own channels the seamen of the North, it finds its particular navigation invigorated; 
and while it contributes, in different ways, to nourish and increase the general mass of 
the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a maritime strength to 
Avhich itself is unequally adapted. The East, in a like intercourse with the West, already 
finds, and in the progressive improvement of interior communications, by land and 
water, will more and more find a valuable vent for the commodities which it brings 
from abroad, or manufactures at home. The West derives from the East supjilies 
requisite to its growth and comfort — and Avhat is perhaps of still greater consequence, 
it must of necessity owe the secure enjoyment of indispensable outlets for its own pro- 
ductions to the weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlantic side 
of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of interest as one nation. Any 
other tenure by which the W^est can hold this essential advantage, whether derived 
from its own separate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connection with any 
foreign power, must be intrinsically' precarious. 

While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular 
interest in Union, all the parts combined can not fail to find in the united mass of 
means and efforts, greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security 
from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; 
and what is of inestimable value, they must derive from Union an exemption from 
those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring 
countries, not tied together by the same government; which their own rivalships alone 
would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and 
intrigues would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, tiiey will avoid the necessity 
of those overgrown military establishments, which under any form of government are 
inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be re^rded as particularly hostile to Eepub- 
lican Liberty. In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as the main 
prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preserva- 
tion of the other. 

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting and virtuous 
mind, and exhibit the continuance of the Union as a primary object of patriotic desire. 
Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace so large a sphere? Let 
experience solve it. To listen to mere specttlation in such a case were criminal. We 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 603 

are authorized to liope that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary- 
agency of governments for the respective subdivisions, will aflord a hapjjy issue 
to the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With such pow- 
erful and obvious motives to Union affecting all parts of our country, wbile expe- 
rience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, there will always be reason 
to di?:lrust the patriotism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken 
its bands. 

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union, it occurs as matter of 
serious concern, that any ground should have heen furnished for characterizing parties 
by geographical discriminations — Northern and Southern, Atlantic and Western; whence 
designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that there is a real difference of local inter- 
ests and views. One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular 
districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. Yon can not shield 
yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings which spring from these 
niisrejiresentations ; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be 
bound together by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our Western country have 
lately had a useful lesson on this head : they have seen, in the negotiation by the exec- 
utive, and in the unanimous ratification by the Senate, of the treaty with Spain, and 
in the universal satisfaction at the event throughout the United States, a decisive proof 
how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among them of a policy in the general 
government, and in the Atlantic States, unfriendly to their interests in regard to tlie 
Mississippi: they have been witnesses to the formation of two treaties, that with Great 
Britain and that with Spain, which secure to them every thing they could desire, 
in respect to our foreign relations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not 
be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on the Uxiox by 
which they were procured? Will they not henceforth be deaf to those advisers, 
if such there are, wlio would sever them from their brethren, and connect them 
with aliens? 

To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a government for the whole is 
indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate 
substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions which 
all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you 
have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of government 
better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious man- 
agement of your common concerns. This government, the offspring of your own 
choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and mature delib- 
eration, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its powers, uniting 
security with energy, and containing within itself a provision for its own amendment, 
has a'just claim to your confidence and your support. Eespect for its authority, com- 
pliance with its laws, acquiescence in its measures, are duties enjoined by the funda- 
mental maxims of true liberty. The basis of our political .systems is the right of the 
people to make, and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution 
which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole 
people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.' The very idea of the power and the right of 
the people to establish government, presupposes the duty of every individual to obey 
the established government. 

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, 
under whatever plausible cliaracter, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, 
or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive 
of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, 
to give it an artificial and extraordinary force— to put in the place of the delegated 



604 APPENDIX G. 

•will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minor- 
ity of the commumty ; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to 
make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous 
projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested 
by common councils and modified by mutual interests. 

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then 
answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become 
potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be ena- 
bled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of 
government; destroying afterward the very engines which have lifted them to unjust 
dominion. 

Towards the preservation of your government, and the permanency of your present 
hapjjy state, it is requisite, not only tliat you steadily discountenance irregular 
opposition to its acknowledged authority, but also tliat you resist with care the 
spirit of innovation upon its principles, liowever specious the pretexts. One method 
of assault may be to effect in the forms of the Constitution alterations which will 
impair tlie energy of the system, and thus to undermine what can not be directly 
overthrown. In all the changes to which you may be invited, remember that time 
and habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments, as 
of other human institutions; that experience is the surest standard by which to test 
the real tendency of the existing constitution of a country — that facility in clianges 
upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetual change from 
the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion ; and remember, especially, that for 
the efficient management of your common interests, in a country so extensive as 
ours, a government of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of 
liberty, is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with jiowers 
propei'ly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little else 
than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the enterprises of fac- 
tion, to confine eacli member of the society within the limits 2:>rescribed by the laws, 
and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoyment of the rights of person and 
property. 

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular 
reference to the founding of them on geograpliical discriminations. Let me now take 
a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the 
baneful effects of the spirit of party, generalh'. 

Tills spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the 
strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all govern- 
ments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the popular form, it 
is seen in its greatest rankness, and it is truly their worst enemy. 

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of 
revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpe- 
trated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at 
length to a more formal and permanent desjjotism. The disorders and miseries which 
result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute 
power of an individual ; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more 
able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the jjurposes of 
his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. 

"VVitliout looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which, nevertheless, ought 
not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of 
party are sufficient to make it the interest and the duty of a wise people to discourage 
and restrain it. 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS 605 

It serves always to distract (he public councils, and enfeeble the public adminis- 
tration. It agitates the coninumity with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kin- 
dles tiie animosit}' of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. 
It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, whicli find a facilitated access to 
the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and 
the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. 

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful cliecks upon the ad- 
ministration of government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This within 
certain limits is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriotism 
may look with indulgence, if not witli favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of 
the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encour- 
aged. From their natural tendency it is certain there will always be enougli of that 
spirit for every salutary purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort 
ouglit to be, by force of public opinion, to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be 
quenclied, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, in- 
stead of warming, it should consume. 

It is important, likewise, that the habits, of thinking, in a free country, should 
inspire caution in those intrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within 
tlieir respective constitutional spheres, avoiding in the exercise of the powers of one 
department to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroachment tends to con- 
solidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form 
of government, a real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and jarone- 
ness to abuse it, wliich predominates in the human heart, is sufficient to satisfy us 
of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise 
of political jjower, by dividing and distributing it into different depositories, and 
constituting each the guardian of the public weal against invasions by the others, 
has been evinced by experiments ancient and modern ; some of them in our country 
and under our own eyes. To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. 
If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional 
powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way 
which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation ; for 
though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary 
Aveapon by which free governments are destroyed. Tlie precedent must always greatly 
overbalance in permanent evil any partial or transient benefit which the use can at any 
time yield. 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and 
morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of 
patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these 
firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician, equally with the 
pious man, ought to respect and to cherish tliem. A volume could not trace all their 
connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the 
security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert 
the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts of justice? And let us 
with caution indulge tlie supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. 
Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar 
structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can 
prevail in exclusion of religious principle. 

It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular 
government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to every species of free 
government. Who that is a sincere friend to it, can look with indifference upon attempts 
to shake the foundation of the fabric? 



606 APPENDIX G. 

Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutiorif? for the general dif- 
fusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to 
public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened. 

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One 
method of i^reserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, avoiding occasions of ex- 
pense by cultivating peace; but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare 
for danger, frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding like- 
wise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vig- 
orous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars may 
have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which we our- 
selves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to your Representatives, 
but it is necessary that public opinion should co-operate. To facilitate to them the 
performance of their duty, it is essential that you should practically bear in mind, that 
toward the payment of debts there must be revenue; that to have revenue there must be 
taxes; that no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and 
unpleasant; that the intrinsic embarrassment inseparable from the selection of tlie proper 
objects (which is always a choice of difficulties) ought to be a decisive motive for a 
candid construction of the conduct of the government in making it, and for a spirit of 
acquiescence in the measures for obtaining revenue which the public exigencies may at 
any time dictate. 

Observe good faith and justice towards all nations, cultivate peace and harmony with 
all ; religion and morality enjoin this conduct, and can it be that good policy does not 
equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a 
great nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people 
always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt but that in the 
course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary 
advantage which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be that Providence 
has not connected the permanent felicity of a nation with its virtue? The experiment, 
at least, is recommended by every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas! is it 
rendered impossible by its vices? 

In the execution of sucli a plan, nothing is more essential than that permanent, 
inveterate antipatliies against particular nations, and jiassionate attachments for others, 
should be excluded ; and that in place of them just and amicable feelings towards all 
should be cultivated. The nation whicli indulges toward another an habitual liatred or 
an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or its affec- 
tion, eitlier of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interests. Antip- 
athy in one nation against another, disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, 
to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be liauglity and intractable, when 
accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, 
envenomed, and bloody contests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, 
sometimes impels to war the government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. 
The government sometimes partici{)ates in the national propensity, and adopts through 
passion what reason would reject ; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation 
subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and otlier sinister and 
pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has 
been the victim. 

So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety 
of evils. Sympathy for tlie favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary 
common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one 
the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels 
and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 607 

to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt 
douhly to injure the nation making the concessions, by unnecessarily parting with 
what ought to have been retained ; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a dispo- 
sition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And 
it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to 
the favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, 
without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding with the ajapearance of a 
virtuous sense of obligation a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable 
zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or 
infatuation. 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments are 
particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. How many 
Oi'iportunities do they affurd to tamper with domestic factions; to practice the arts of 
sedition, to mislead public opinion, to influence or awe the public councils! Such an 
attachment of a small and weak, towards a great and powerful nation, dooms the former 
to be the satellite of the latter. Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I 
conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be 
constantly awake; since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of 
the most baneful foes of Eepublican Government. But that jealousy be useful must 
be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead 
of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive 
dislike of another, cause those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and 
serve to veil and even second the arts of influence on the other. Keal j^atriiots, who 
may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and odious; 
while its tools and dupes usurp the ajiplause and confidence of the people, to surrender 
their interest. 

The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our 
commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So 
fixr as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. 
Here let us stop. 

Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote 
relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent contioversies, the causes of which are 
essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to impli- 
cate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordi- 
nary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities. 

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different 
course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is 
not far oS when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when vfe 
take such an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve 
upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossi- 
bility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provo- 
cation ; when we may choose peace or war, as our interest, guided by justice, shall 
counsel. 

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit your own to 
stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part 
of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rival- 
ship, interest, humor, or caprice ? 

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of 
the foreign world — so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not 
be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. I hold 
the maxim no less applicable to public than to private afiairs, that honesty is always 



608 APPEXDIX G. 

the best policy. I repeat it, tlierefore, let those engagements be observed in their 
genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary, and would be unwise to extend 
them. 

Taking care always to keep ourselves, by suitable establishments, on a respectable 
defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emer- 
gencies. 

Harmony, and liberal intercourse with all nations, are recoramer.ded by policy, 
humanity, and interest. 

But even our commercial policy sliould hold an equal and impartial hand ; neither 
seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; — consulting the natural course 
of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce, but 
forcing nothing; establishing, with powers so disposed, in order to give trade a stable 
course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support 
them, conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual 
opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned 
or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keei^ing in view, 
that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another; that it 
must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that char- 
acter; that by such acceptance, it may place itself in the condition of having given 
equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not 
giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect, or calculate upon, real 
favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just 
pride ought to discard. 

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, 
I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish — that 
they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the 
course which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. But if I may even flatter my- 
self that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they 
may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mis- 
chiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism ; tliis 
hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare by which they have 
been dictated. 

How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been guided by the principles 
which have been delineated, the public records and other evidences of my conduct must 
witness to you and to the world. To myself, tlie assurance of my own conscience is, that 
I have at least believed myself to be guided by them. 

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 22d 
of April, 1793, is the index to my plan. Sanctioned by your approving voice, and 
by that of your Eepresentatlves in both Houses of Congress, the spirit of that measure 
has continually governed me, uninfluenced by any attempts to deter or divert me 
from it. 

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could obtain, I was 
Avell satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances of the case, had a right to 
take, and was bound in duty and interest to take, a neutral position. Having taken it, 
I determined, as far as should depend upon me, to maintain it with moderation, perse- 
verance, and firmness. 

The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is not necessary 
on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that, according to my understanding of 
the matter, that right, so far from being denied by any of the belligerent Powers, has 
been virtually admitted by all. 

The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 609 

from the obligation which justice and liumanity imposes on every nation, in cases in 
Avhich it is free to act, to maintain inviolate tiie relations of peace and amity towards 
other nations. 

The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be referred 
to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant motive has been 
to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and mature its yet recent insti- 
tutions, and to progress, without interruption, to that degree of strength and con- 
sistency Avliich is necessary to give it, humanly speaking, the command of its own 
fortunes. 

Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of 
intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects, not to think it prob- 
able that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently 
beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall 
also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them Avith indul- 
gence; and that after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service, with an upright 
zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must 
soon be to the mansions of rest. 

Eelying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that fervent 
love towards it, whicli is so natural to a man who views in it the native soil of him- 
self and his progenitors for several generations; I anticipate Avith pleasing expec- 
tation that retreat, in which I promise myself to realize, without alloy, the sweet 
enjoyment of partaking, in the midst of my fellow-citizens, the benign influence of 
good laws under a free government — the ever favorite object of my heart, and the 
happy reward, as I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers. 

G. Washington. 

United States, 17th September, 1796. 



39 



APPENDIX H. 



THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, 

BY THE PEESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AJIERICA. 

[If the Emancipation Proclamation is to be regarded as the cause of tlie freedom 
of the African race in the United Stales, then indeed mnst it be considered as among 
the most important documents known in history : perhaps the most important of all. 
The truer view of the case, however, seems to be this : The inexorable Logic of Events 
was rapidly bringing about the emancipation of the slaves. The National government 
fell under a .stringent necessity to strike <a blow at the labor system of the Southern 
States. "With every struggle of the war the sentiment of abolition at the North rose 
higher and higher. The President himself and the chief supporters of his administra- 
tion had for years made no concealment of their desire that all men everywhere 
should be free. The occasion was at hand. Mr. Lincoln seized and generalized the 
facts, embodied them in his own words, and became for all time the oracle and inter- 
preter of National Necessity. — The Author.] 

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, iri the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a Proclamation was issued by the President of 
the United States, containing among other things the following, to wit: 

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one tliousand eight 
hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part 
of a State, the jieople whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall 
be then, thenceforward and forever free, and the executive government of the United 
States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and main- 
tain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such jDersons, or 
any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom." 

"That the executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, 
designate the States and parts of States, if any, in whicli the people thereof respectively 
shall then be in rebellion against the United States, and the fact that any State, or the 
people thereof, shall on that day be in good faith represented in the Congress of the 
United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the quali- 
fied voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong coun- 
tervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State and the people 
thereof are not then in rebellion against the United States." 

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue 
of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the 
United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authorit}' and government 
of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said 

610 



EMANCIPA TION PROCLAMA TION. 11 

rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, publicly 
proclaim for the full period of one hundred days from the day the first above- 
mentioned, order and designate, as the States and parts of States wherein the people 
thereof respectively are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, 
to wit: 

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, 
Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, 
Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Orleans), Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and 
Virginia (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the 
counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and 
Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts 
are, for the 2)resent, left precisely as if this Proclamation were not issued. 

And by virtue of the power and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare 
that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States are, and 
henceforward shall be free ; and that the executive government of the United States, 
including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the 
freedom of said persons. • 

And I hereby enjoin upon the jieople so declared to be free, to abstain from all 
violence, unless in necessary self-defence, and I recommend to them that in all cases, 
Avhen allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. 

And I further declare and make known that such persons of suitable condition 
■will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, 
stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. 

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the 
Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind 
and the gracious favor of Almighty God. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my name, and caused the seal of the 
United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of Jamiary, in the year of our 
[ L. s. ] Loi'd one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence 

of the United States the eighty-seventh. 

Abrahaji Lincoln. 
By the President : 

William H. Seward, 

Secretary of State. 



PEONUJl^CIATIOX OF PROPEE ]^AMES. 



[E., English; F., French ; S., Spanish; P., Portugese; It, Italian; G., German; N., Norse; Svv., 
Swedish; Pol., Polish; L., Latin; I., Indian.] 



Abenaki [I.], ab-e-nah-ki. 

Abercronibie [E.], ab-er-kriim-bi. 

Adet [F.], ah-da. 

Adolphui^ [L.], a-dol-fuR. 

Aix-]a-Ch:ipelle [F.], aks-lah-shah-pel. 

Algonquin [I.], al-zli6n-ken. 

Almonte [S.], al-mon-te. 

Alvarado [S.], al-va-rah-do. 

Ambrister [E.], am-bris-ter. 

Amerigo Vespucci [It.], ah-mer-e-gO ves- 

poot-che. 
Amidas [E.], ilm-id-as. 
Am pud i a [.S.], ani-poo-di-Si. 
Andre [F.], aii-dra. 
Antietam [E.], au-te-tam, 
Antonio de Et<pego [S.], ahn-to-ni-o da es- 

pa-ho. 
Arbuthnot [E.], ahr-buth-not. 
Arista [S.], ah-ris-ta. 
Armada [S.], ahr-mah-da. 
Ashe [E.], ash. _ 
Au Glaize [F.], o-glaz. 
Ayavalia [S.], i-ah-vahl-ya. 
Ayotla [S.], 1-ot-la. 
Aztecs [L], Sz-teks. 
Bahia [S.], bah-e-a. 
Balfour [E.], bal-foor. 
Barron [E.], bahr-ron. 
Baum [E.], bawm. 
Bauniarcliais [F.], bo-mahr-sha. 
Bayard [E.], bi-ahrd. 
P!eaujen [F.], bo-zhfi. 
Beauregard [F.], bo-ra-gahrd. 
Beau-Sejour [F.], bo-sa-zlioor. 
Bellomont [E.], bel-o-mont. 
Bernard [E.], ber-nalirrt. 
Bienville [F.], be-ong-vel. 
Blennerliassett [E.], blen-ner-has-set. 
Blyth [E.], blith. 
Boscawen [E.], bos-kaw-en. 
Buddhist [Sanscrit], bood-dist. 
Bulkeley [E.], bulk-li. 
Burgovne [E.], bur-goin. 
Cabot [E.], kab-6t. 
Cadwallader [E.], kad-wahl-la-der. 
Canonchet [I.], ka-ii6ii-shet. 
Canouicus [I-], kil-iion-i-kixs. 
Canseau [F.], kiin-so. 
Carleton [E.] Ualirl-tun. 
Cartier [F.], kahr-ti-a. 
Casimer [Sw.], ktls i-mer. 
Castin [F.], kas-tan. 
Chabot [F.], sha-bo. 
Cliam [Ttirtar], kam. 
Champe [E.], kamp. 
Champlain [F.], sham-plan. 

612 



Chapnltepec [S.], kab-pool-ta-pek. 

Chaudiere [F.], sho-de-ar. 

Cliauncey [E.], ehawn-se. 

Cherbourg [F.J, sher-boorg. 

Cherokee [I.], cher-o-ke. 

Ciiickamauga [E.], chik-a-inaw-ga. 

Chickasaws [1.], chik-a-sawz. 

Chicora [S-], che-kO-ia. 

Chignecto [I.], she-iick-tO. 

Chihuahau [8.], she-wali-wah. 

Ciioctavvs [I.], chok-tawz. 

Christison [Sw.], kris-ti-sun. 

Christophe [S.], kris-to-fe. 

Chrysler [E.], kris-ler. 

Churubusco [vS.], koo-roo-boos-kO. 

Clarendon [E.], klar en-dun, 

Cochrane [E.], kok-ran. 

Coligni [F.], ko-len-ye. 

Columbus [L.], ko-Uim-bus. 

Comanehes [I.], ko-nian-chez. 

Conde [F.], kon-da. 

Contreras [S.], kon-tra-ras. 

Copernicus [L.], ko-per-ni-kus. 

Copley [E.], kop-le. 

Coi'ees [L], ko-rez. 

Cornwallis [E.], kawrn-walil-lis. 

Credit Mobil ier [F.], ciTi-di-mo-bil-i-ar. 

Croghan [E.], krott-han. 

Dacres [E.], dak-erz. 

Dahlgren [E.], dai-gren. 

Darrah [E.], tlalir-rah. 

D'Anville [F.], dong-vel. 

D'Aubrey [F.], do-bra. 

Daye [E.], da. 

De Barras [F.], du bahr-rah. 

Decatur [E.], de-ka-tiir. 

De Fleury [F.], du fliir-i. 

De Grasse [F.], dii grfts. 

De Kalb [F.], du kalilb. 

Delaplace [F.], dii-la-pias. 

De Monts [F.], du niong'. 

D'Estaing [F.], da-staiig. 

De Ternay [F.], dii ter-na. 

De Vaca [S.], da vali-ka. 

De Yergor [F.], du-var-gor. 

De Villiers [F.], du-vel-yar. 

De Yries [F.], du vrez. 

Dieskau [F.], de-es-ko. 

Dominic de Gourges [F.], do-man-ek du 

goorg. 
Dongan [E.], dun-gan. 
Doniphan [E.], don-i-fan. 
Dupont [E.], du-pout. 
Du Quesne [F.], de-kan. 
Dyar [E.], dl-ar. 
Eldorado [S.], el-dO-rah-do. 



PROXUXCIATIOX OF PROPER NAMES. 



613 



Elkswatnwa [I.], elks-wali-tah-wali. 

Emucfau [I.], e-mooU-faw. 

Endicott [E.], en-di-kot. 

Ericsson [E.], er-iks-suii. 

Er.skine [E.], er-skiii. 

Esopus [E.], e-so-pus. 

Esquimaux [I.], es-ki-niOz. 

Earragut [E.] fahr-ra-gu. 

Ferdinand de Soto [S.], fer-di-nahnd da 

so-to. 
Ferdinand Gorges [E.], fer-di-nandcjor-jez. 
Ferdinand Magellen [P.], fcr-di-nand ma- 

jel-lan. 
Ferguson [E.], fur-gii-sun. 
Fernandez de Cordova [S.], fer-nahn-deth 

da, kor-do-va. 
Fernando Cortez [S.], fer-nahn-do kor-tetli. 
Fouchet [F.], foo-shfi. 
Fraser [E.], fra-zer. 
Freneau [E.], IVe-no. 
Frobisher [E.], frob-isli-er. 
Frontenac [F.], fron-te-iiiik. 
Gabarus [E.], ga-bflr-us. 
Galileo [It.], gah-li-la-o. 
Gambier [F.], gahni-ln-a. 
Ganowanian [I.], gahn-o-walin-i.an. 
Gaspar Cortereal [P.], gahs-pahr kor-ta-ra- 

alil. 
Gaspe [F.], gas-pa. 
Gawen [E.], gaw-en. 
Genet [F.], zhe-na- 
Gillis [G.], gil-lis. 
Gladwyn [E.], glftd-win. 
Gloucester [E.], glos-ter. 
Godyn [E.], go-din. 
Gofl'e [E.], gawf. 
Gorgeana [E.], gor-je-jin-a. 
Gosnold [E.], gos-nokl. 
Goulburn [E.], gool-burn. 
Grierson [E.], grer-sim. 
Grijalva [S.], gre-lialil-va, 
Guerriere [F.], ger-ri-ar. 
Gustavus [L.], giis-ta-vus. 
Haklnyt [E.], hflk-loot. 
Havre de Grace [F.], hahver-dii-grSs. 
Hayne [E.], han. 
Heister [G.], hts-ter. 
Herjulfson [N.], har-yoolf-son. 
Herkimer [E.], hur-ki-mer. 
Hertel [F.], Iier-tel. 
Hochelaga [L], hok-e-lah-ga. 
Hosset [G.], hos-set. 
Houston [E.], liows-tun. 
Hovenden [E.], ho-ven-den. 
Hugenots [F.], hii-ge-nots. 
Iroquois [1.], ir-o-ltwali. 
Isabella [S.], iz-a-bel-!a. 
Isle-aux-Xoix [F.], el-0-iiooali. 
luka [E.], i-yoo-ka. 
Jameson [E.], jjim-e-sun. 
Joris [G.], yo-ris. 
Juan Ponce de Leon [S.], liwahii pou-tlia 

da la-on. - 



Juarez [S.], yaw-reth. 

Jumonville [F.], zhe-mong-vel. 

Kamtchatkans [I.], kam-tchtlt-kanz. 

Kearney [E.], Ualir-ne. 

Kearsarge [E.], kalir-sahr-ge. 

Kieft [E.], kell. 

Klamaths [I.], klam-aths. 

Knowlton [E.], nol-tiin. 

Knyphausen [(i.], iiep-how-sen. 

Kosciusko [P.], kos-si-iis-ko. 

Kossuth [G.], kos-shoot. 

Koszta [Hungarian], kot-ta. 

La Colle [F.], la-kol. 

La Fayette [F.], la-fa-et. 

La Fitte [F.], la-fit. 

La Eoche [F.], la-rosh. 

La Roque [F.], la-rok. 

La Salle [F.], ia-sal. 

Lathrop [E.], la-thrup. 

Laudonniere [F.], lo-dOn-ni-ar. 

Laurie [E.], law-ri. 

La Vega [S.], Jali va-ga. 

Le Bceuf [F.], ICi-bfif. 

Leddra [E.], led-ra. 

Ledyard [E.], led-yahrd. 

Leisler [G.], lls-ler. 

Leitch [E.], lech. 

Leverett [E.], lev-er-et. 

Leyden [G], ii-den. 

Lief Erickson [N.], lef er-ik-siin. 

Lionel [E.], li-O-nel. 

Lopez [vS.], lo-iieth. 

Loudoun [E.], loo-doon. 

Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon [S.], loo-kahs 

\'ahs-ketli da il-yoii, 
Liitzen [G.], letz-en. 
Luzerne [Swiss], loo-zerii. 
Macdonougli [E.], mak-don-o. 
Macdougall [E.], mak-doo-gal. 
]\Iacomb [E.], ma-koni. 
]\Iagaw [E.], nia-gaw. 
Mandeville [E.], niau-de-vil. 
Manteo [I.], iiialiii-te-o. 
Manuel [P.], nialin-oo-al. 
Markham [E.], nialirk-am. 
Marlborough [E], malirl-bru. 
Massasoit [I.], mas-sas-O-it. 
Mather [E.], mathe-er. 
Matoaka [L], mat-o-tlk-a. 
Matthews [E.], niAth-uz. 
Maurepas [F.], mo-re-pali. 
[Maximilian [G.], max-i-niil-yan. 
McCullough [E.], niak-Kiil-lo. 
Mcintosh [E.], inak-in-tosli. 
'Meacham [E.], ine-cliam. 
Meigs [E.], megz. 

Meta Incognita [L.], iiie-ta in-c6g-ni-ta. 
INIiantononioh [L], mi-an-tO-no-mo. 
Micanopy [I.], mi-kan-o-pi. 
Minuit [G.], niin-oo-it. 
[Mohegan [L], mo-he-gan. 
Monckton [E.], muuk-tun. 
Monk [E.], munk. ' 



614 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Montcalm [F.], nioiit-ltalim. 

]\Ioiiteano [S.], mon-ta-aliii-o. 

Montezuma [I.], iiioii-te-zoo-ma. 

Montmorenci [F.], mont-mo-ren-si. 

Mosley [E.], mos-le. 

Moultrie [E.], mol-tri. 

Nairne [E.], nam. 

Nassau [F.], nas-so. 

Naumkeag [I.], nawm-ke-Sg. 

Nipmucks [I.], nip-muks. 

Nueces [S.], nwa-ses. 

Ocklawaha [I.], 6k-la-wah-hah. 

Odeneal [E.], o-deii-el. ^ 

Ogletliorpe [E.], o-gel-thorp. 

O'Hara [E.], o-halir-ra. 

Ojeda [8.], o-ha-da. 

Okeechobee [I.], o-ke-cho-be. 

Oldliam [E.], old-am. 

Oiustee [E.], o-lus-te. 

Opecancanough [I.], o-pe-kftn-kan-o. 

Orapax [I.], 6r-a pakx. 

Osceola [!.], 6s-se-o-Ia. 

Oswald [E.], 6s-wa\vld. 

Onatanon [1.], waht-a-non. 

Oxenstiern [vSw.], oks-en-stern. 

Pamphilp de Narvaez [S.], pahm-fe-lo da 

nahr-vali-eth. 
Pascua Floriila [L.], pahs-koo-a flor-i-da. 
Pauw [Ct.], paw. 

Pedro Menendez [S.], pa-dro ma-leu-deth. 
Peinaqnid [I.], pem-a-kwid. 
Pepperell [E.], pep-per-el. 
Pe(|Uod [I.J, pe-k\v6d. 
Perote [S.]; pa-ro-te. 
Pigot [K], pig-6t. 
Pinta [S.], pen-ta. 
Pitcairn [E.], pit-karn. 
Pizarro [S.]. pe-thalii-ro. 
Pocahontas [I.], p6k-a-h6ii-tas. 
Poictiers [F.J, pwali-te-a. 
Pt;intau Trembles [F.], pwan to trahinbl. 
Pontchartrain [F.], pGa-shahr-tran. 
Poutrincourt [F.], poo-traii-koor. 
Powhatan [I.], pow-hat-an. 
Presque Isle [F.], presk el. 
Prevost [E.], prev-Ost. 
Prideaux [F.], pi'e-do. 
Pulaski [P.], poo-Iahs-ki. 
Quantrell [E.], Uwahn-trel. 
Queretaro [S.], ka-ra-tah-ro. 
Rah I [G.], rail I. 
Eelcigh [E.], raw-li. 
Eatclitie [E.], rat-klif. 
Rawdon [E.], raw-dim. 
Kaymbault [F.J, ram-bo. 
Revere [E.J, re-ver. 
Riall [E.J, ri-al. 
Ril)ault [F.J, re-bo. 
Roberval [F.J, rob-er-valil. 
Rochambeau [F.J, ro-sham-bo. 
Rochelle [F.J, ro-shel. 

Roderigo Tiiana [S.J, rod-re-gQ tre-ah-na. 
Rosecrans [O.], ros-e-krahns. 



Ryswick [G.J, res-wik. 

Saltillo [S.J, sahl-tel-yo. 

Samosset [I.J, sam-o-set. 

Santa Maria [S.J, sahn-ta mah-re-a. 

Sassacus [I.J, stls-sak-iis. 

Sayle [E.J, sal. 

Schuyler [E.J, skl-ler. 

Selish [I.J, se-lish. 

Seminoles [I.], sem-i-nolz. 

Siieafie [G.J, shaf-fe. 

Shoshoiiees [I.J, sh(5-sho-nez. 

Sicklemore [E.J, sik-el-mor. 

Sloughter [E.J, slo-ter. 

Squanto [I.J, skwaliii-to. 

St. Croix [F.J, sant-liroi. 

Steuben [G.J, stu-ben. 

Stirling [E.J, stur-ling. 

St. Leger [F.J, san la-zha. 

Stoughton [E.J, sto-tun. 

St. Pierre [F.J, san pe-ar. 

Stuyvesant [G.], sti-ves ant. 

Subercase [F.J, se-bgr-hahs. 

Talladega [I.J, talil-la-de-ga. 

TamauHpas [S.J, tahm-aw-le-pas. 

Tanacharisson [L.J; tan-a-kar-is-sun. 

Tecumtha [LJ, te-kuin-tha. 

Theresa [G.J, ter-es-a. 

Thortinn Karlsefne [N.J, tor-fifn kahrl- 

sef-ne. 
Thorstein Erickson [N.J, tor-stln er-ik-sun. 
Tituba [I.J, ti-too-ba. 
Tohopeka [I.J, to-ho-pe-ka. 
Tomo-Chichi [I.J, to-mo-che-chi. 
Van Rensselaer [E.J, van rens-se-lahr. 
Van Twiller [G.J, van twel-ler. 
Vasco de Gama [P.J, valis-ko da g-ali-ma. 
Vasco Nunez de Balboa [S- J, valis-ko iioou- 

yeth da bahl-bo-a. 
Vaudreuil [F.J, vO-dru-el. 
Vaughan [E.J, vawii. 
Vergennes [F.J, ver-zl»en. 
Verhulst [G.J, var hoolst. 
Veri-azzani [It. J, ver-rat-tsah-ne. 
Wainman [E.J, wan-man. 
Walloons [G.J, wahl-Ioonz. 
Wampanoags [I.J, wahm-pan-o-agz. 
Warwick [E.J, wahr-rick. 
Wavmouth [E.J, wa-muth. 
Weide [E.J, wel-de. 
Weitzel [G.J, wit-zel. 
Whalley [E.J,^ liwahl-li. 
Whinyates [E.J, liwin-vats. 
Whitetield [E.J, hwit-feld. 
Wingina [I.J, win-ge-na. 
Worcester [E.J, woos-ter. 
Wouter [G.J, w«o-ter. 
Xeres [S.J, ha-retli. 
Yamacraws [L.J, yahm-a-krauz. 
Yeamans [E.J, ye-manz. 
Yeardley [E.J, yfird-li. 
Youghiogheny [I.J, yob-hO-ga-ni. 
Yu.set' [MoorishJ, yoo-sef. 
Zenger [G.J, zen-ger. 



INDEX. 



ABENAKTS, The, 

War with, US, 154. 
ABERCRUMlilE, General, 

Expeditiou of agaiust Ticonderoga, 271. 
ACADIA, 

Name of, 75 ; ruin of, 261-264. 

ADAMS, John, 

Preilicts American Independence, 2S6 ; nominates 
Washington for general-in-chief, 3U1 ; member of 
committee to draft Declaration, 309; commis- 
sioner to Paris, 354 : Vice-President, 362 ; sketch 
of, 372 ; administration of, 372-376 ; death of, 424. 

ADAMS, John Quincy, 

Secretary of State, 417; elected President, 423; 
sketch of, 423 ; administration of, 423-426 ; death 
of, 461. 

ADAMS, Samvel, 

Speaks out for liberty, 295. 

ADET, M., 

Evil influence of in United States, 373. 

ADOLPHUS, GusTAVUs, 

Plans an American colony, 164. 
AIX-LA-CHA PELLE, 

Treaty of, 158. 
ALABAMA, 

Admission of, 420. 
ALABAJIA.The, 

Career of, 533. 
ALABAMA CLAIMS, The, 

Settlement of, 556. 
ALASKA, 

Purcliase of, 547. 
ALGIERS, 

Tribute paid to, 370; brought to terms, 416. 
ALGONQUIN'S, The, 

Territorial position of, 42 and Map I. 
ALLEX, Ethan, 

Expedition of against Ticonderoga, 29S. 
AMEND JIENTS TO CONSTITUTION, 

Notice of, 361 ; passage of Fourteenth and Fif- 
teenth, 553. 
AMHERST, General, 

■ Commander-in-chief in America, 273. 

AMIDAS, Philip, 

Voyage of, SI. 
A3INESTY PROCLAMATION, The, 

Account of, 544. 
ANDERSON, Robert, 

At Fort Sumter, 4S4. 
ANDRE, John, 

Connection of with Arnold's treason, 344 ; execu- 
tion of, 345. 
ANDROS, Sir Edmund, 

Career of in America, 123, 146, 147, 174, 191, 197, 200, 

207. 
ANTIETABI, 

Battle of, 506. 
ANTI-FEDERALIST PARTY, The, 

Rise of, 359. 
ARCHD ALE, John, 

Governor of South Carolina, 234. 
ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS, 

Account of, 467. 
ARGALL, Samuel, 

Expeditions of, lOS, 109. 
ARKANSAS, 

Organization of, 420; admission of, 435. 

ARMADA, The Invincible, 

Mentioned, S3. 



ARNOLD, Benedict, 

At Ticonderoga, 299; expedition of against Que- 
bec, 303 : heroism of at Saratoga, 323 ; treason of, 
343 ; in Virginia, 346. 

ATLANTA, 

Capture of, 526. 



B 

BACON, Nathaniel, 

Rebellion of, 120. 
BALBOA, 

Discovery of the Pacific by, 57. 
BALTIMORE, 

Siege of, 410 ; attack on Union soldiers in, 485. 
BALTIMORE, T^he Lords, 

Colonize Maryland, 217. 
BANK OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Organization of, 366; expiration of charter of, 

415; rechartering of vetoed by Jackson, 427 ; new 

cliarter of vetoed by Tyler, 441. 
BANKS, N.P., 

In West Virginia, 502; in command of the Red 

River expedition, 524. 
BARCLAY, Robert, 

Governor of New Jersey, 207. 
BARLOW, Arthur, 

Voyage of, 81. 
BAXTER, Georoe, 

Bearer of charter of Rhode Island, 197. 
BELLOMONT, Earl of. 

Governor of New York, 179. 
BENNINGTON, 

Battle of, 322. 
BENTON, Thomas H., 

Procures the expunging of resolutions of censure 

against Jackson, 432. 
BERKELEY, Sir William, 

Governor of Virginia, 116 ; vengeance of, 121 ; pro- 
prietor of New Jersey, 203. 
BLACK FRIDAY, 

Story of, 55:!. 
BLACK HAWK WAR, The, 

Account of, 429. 
BLOCKADE, 

The question of in Europe, 384, 385. 
BOBADILLA, 

Mentioned, 56. 
BONAPARTE, Napoleox 

Policy of toward the United States. 374; sells 

Louisiana, 378 ; measures of agaiust Great Brit- 
ain, 383; issues Milan Decree, 386; invasion of 

Russia by, 393. 
BONAPARTE, Louis Napoleon, 

Intrigue of respecting Mexico, 545. 
BOONE, Daniel, 

Colonizes Kentucky, 367. 
BOOTH, John Wilkes, 

Assassination of Lincoln by, 542. 

BOSTON, 

Founded, 127; occupied by the British army, 293; 

massacre at, 293 ; siege of, 298-307 ; evacuation of, 

307 ; great fire in, 558. 
BRADDOCK, Edward, 

Campaign of against the French, 258-261 ; death 

of, 261. 
BRADFORD, William, 

Governor of Massachusetts, 124. 
BRAGG. Braxton, 

At Siurfreesborough, 5<Xi ; at Chickamauga, 514; 

at Lookout and Missionary Ridge, 514, 515. 



(615) 



616 



INDEX. 



BBANDYWINE, 

Battle of, 321. 

BRECKINRIDGE, John C, 

Vice-President, 474 ; in command in the Shenan- 
doah Valley, 536. 

BROWN, John, 

lusuirection led by, 47S. 

BUCHANAN, James, 

Part of in Ostend Manifesto, 472; elected Presi- 
dent, 474 ; sketch of, 474 ; administration of, 474- 
4S2. 

BUCKNER, S. B., 

At Fort Duuelson, 496. 

BUENA VISTA, 
Battle of, 453. 

BULL RUN, 

Battle of. 491 ; second battle of, .505. 

BUNKER HILL, 

Fortification of by Americans, 299; battle of, 300. 

BUNKER HILL MONUMENT, The, 
History of, 443. 

BURGESSES, House op, 

Establisiimeiu of, ll(j; scene in, 289. 

BURGOYNE, Geneual, 

Invasion of, .321 ; at Bemis's Heights, 323; capit- 
ulation of, 324. 

BURNSIDE, Ambrose E., 

In command of tlie Army of the Potomac, .5<J9 ; at 
Fredericksbnrg, 5U9. 

BURR, Aaron, 

Elected Vice-President, 370 ; kills Hamilton, 3S2; 
conspiracy of, 383. 

BUTLER, B.F., 

At New Orleans, 498 ; at Fort Fisher, 532 ; at Ber- 
muda Hundred, 536. 



c 

CABINET, The, 

Organization of, 364. 
CABLE, The Atlantic, 

Laying of, 476, 545. 
CABOT, John, 

Voyage of, 76. 
CABOT, Sebastfan, 

Voyage and e.xplorations of, 77. 
CALHOUN, John C, 

In Congress, 391; secretary of war, 417; Vice- 
President, 423; as a uuUifier, 429; death of, 467. 
CALIFORNIA, 

Discovery of gold in, 459; organization of, 463; 

admission of, 464. 
CALIFORNIANS. The, 

Territorial position of, 44 and Map 1. 
CALVERT, Sir George, 

Sketch of, 217. 
CALVERT, Sir Cecil, 

Colonizes Maryland, 218. 
CAMDEN, 

Battle of, 341. 

CANADIAN INSURRECTION, The, 

Account of, 438. 
CANONCIIET, 

Notice of, 141 ; execution of, 143. 
CANONICUS, 

Notice of, 129. 
CAPE BRETON, 

Conquest of, 157, 158. 
CARTERET, Sir George, 

Proprietor of New Jersey, 203. 
CARTIER, Jajies, 

Voyage of, 71. 
CARVER, John, 

Leader of the Pilgrims, 91 ; death of, 123. 
CENSUS, 

Of 1790 and 1,S(J0, 375 ; of 1810, .390 ; of 1840, 439 ; of 

1870, 555. 

CENTENNIAL OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE 

Account of, ,565-568. 
CERRO GORDO, 
Battle of, 455. 



CHAMPE, Sergeant John, 

Attempt of to capture Arnold, 346. 

CHAMPION HILLS, 
Battle of, 512. 

CHAMPLAIN, Samuel, 

Career of In America, 75,76. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
Battle of, 518. 

CHAPULTEPEC, 
Battle of, 456. 

CHARLES I., 

Relations of with American colonies, see Slassa- 
cliustlts and Viryinia. 

CHARLES II., 

Relations of with American colonies, see il/ass'i- 
clnisetts and Virginia, 

CHARLESTON, 

Founding of, 231 ; taken by the British, 340 ; evac- 
uation of, 351 ; siege of, 518; capture of by Sher- 
man, 529. 

CHARTER OF NEW ENGLAND, 
Account of, 126. 

CHARTER OAK, The, 
Story of, 147, 191. 

CHASE, Salmon P., 

Secretary of the treasury, 484 ; presides at the 
impeachment trial of Johnson, 551 ; death of, 562. 

CHEROKEES, The, 

Territorial position of, 43 and dlap I. ; war with, 
276 ; diHicullies with, 430. 

CHESAPEAKE, I!ay of. 

Exploration of by John Smith, 103. 

CHESAPEAKE, The, 
Affair of, 385. 

CHICAGO, 

Burning of, 557. 

CHICKAMAUGA, 
Battle of, 514. 

CHICORA, 

Old name of Carolina, 62. 

CHIPPEWA, 
Battle of, 407. 

CHURUBUSCO, 
Battle of, 456. 

CIVIL RIGHTS BILL, The 
Passage of, 548. 

CIVIL WAR, The, 

Causes of, 486-489 ; history of, 490-540. 

CITIZENSHIP, 

English views of, 384. 

CLARKE, John, 

Colonizes Rhode Island, 194 ; services of, 196. 

CLARKE, William, 

Exploring expedition of, 382. 

CLAYBORNE, William, 

Career of in Maryland, 216-222. 

CLAY, Henry, 

In Congress, 391 ; influence of in Missouri Com- 
promise, 421 ; secures the passage of Omnibus 
Bill, 465; deatli of, 468. 

CLINTON, George, 
Vice-President, 382. 

CLINTON, Sir Henry, 

Attempt of to save Burgoyne, 323 ; commander- 
in-chief of British army, 330. 

CODDINGTON, William, 

Sets up Israel in Rhode Island, 195. 

COLFAX. Schuyler, 
^'ice-President, 551. 

COLIGNI, 

3Ientioned, 73. 

COLLEGES, 

Number and character of before the Revolution, 
282. 

COLONIES, The American, 

Reflections on cliaracter of, 245; number and 
extent of, 280; population of, 280; tendency to- 
wards unity, 2SII; education in, 2s2 ; printing 
and books in, 2S2 ; post-oflices and roads in, 283"; 
industries of, 2-<4; reflections on, 284; dispute of 
with Great Britain, 285-296 ; independence of, 309, 
355. 

COLONIZATION SOCIETY, The, 

Organization of, 416. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



617 



COLORADO, 

Admission of, 561. 
COLUMBIA, District of, 

Organization of, 375. 
COLUMBUS, Chkistopher, . . „ 

Sketch ot, 55 ; discovery of America by, 55 ; mis- 
fortunes of, 5(i. 
U0MANCHE8,The, , ,^ ^ 

Territorial position of, 44 and Map I. 
CONCORD, 

Founding of, 130 ; battle of, 29S. 
CONFEDERATION, The, ,. _ 

History of, 3o6-35S ; Articles of, Api>endix h. 
CONGRESS, The First Colonial, 

Meeting of, 291. 
CONGRESS OF THE EEVOLUTION, 

Assembling of, 2%. 
CONNECTICUT, 

Colonization of, 130 ; history of, 184-102. 
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Analysis of, 360; adoption of by the States, 361 ; 

text of. Appendix F. 
CONSTITUTION, The, 

Affair of, 397. 
COOPER, Sir A.shley, 

Proprietor of Carolina, 225. 
COBDOVA, 

Explorations of, 5S. 
CORINTH, 

Battle of, 499. 
CORN BURY, LoRP, 

Governor of New York, 179. 
COBNWALLIS, Lord, 

Pursues Washington across New.Iersey,314 ; con- 
siders the war ended, 315; returns to the work, 

317; at Princeton. 313; at Brandywine, 325 ; in 

Carolina, 347; in Virginia, ci52 ; surrender of at 

Yorktown, 353. 
CORTEREAL, Caspar, 

Voyages of, 69. 
CORTEZ, Fernando, 

Conquest of Mexico by, 58-61. 
COTTON GIN, The, 

As a factor of tlie Civil War, 4S7. 

CRANFIELD, Edward, 

Governor of New Hampshire, 145; career of in 

the province, 200. 
CREDIT MOBILIER,The. 

Uproar concerning, 560. 

CREEKS, The, 

War witli,4fl3; difficulties with, 424. 
CROMWELL, Oliver, 

Relations of with Virginia, 115-llS; favors New 

England, 135. 
CROWN POINT, 

Expedition of Johnson against, 265. 
CUBA, 

Difficulties concerning, 466. _ 



D 

DAKOTAS, The, 

Territorial position of, 43 and Map I. 

DALE, Sir Thomas. 

Governor of Virginia, 107. 
DARE, Virginia. 

Birth mentioned, S3. 
DARRAH, Lydia. 

Story of, 327. 
DAA'IS, .Tefferson, 

President of tlie Confederarv, 4S1 ; sketch of, 492; 

flight of from Richmond, 53s; capture and trial 

of; 540. 
DAYE, Stephen, 

First printer in America, 132. 

DEARBORN, Henry, 

Commander-in-chief of American army, 393. 

De AYLLON, 

Discovery of Carolina by, 62. 
DECATUR, Commodore, 

In the Mediterranean, 415. 



DeGAMA, 

Circumnavigation of Africa by, iS. 

De GOURGES, 

Settles with the Spaniards, 74. 
De KALB. Baron, 

Fights for liberty, 320 ; killed, 342. 

DELAWARE, , , „ 

Colouizatijon of, 165; secession of from Pennsyl- 
vania, 213. 

De LEON, Ponce, 

Discovery of Florida by, 67. 

DEMAGOGUES, 
Influence of, 489. 

DEMOCRATIC PARTY, The, 

Comes into power, 376 ; notice of, 42S. 

De MONTS, 

In America, 75. 

De SOTO, Ferdinand, . 

Explorations of, 64-67; discovery of the Missis- 
sippi by, 65. 

DETROIT, 

Capture of by the British, 395. 

DONIPHAN, Colonel, 

Campaign of, 453. 
DORR INSURRECTION, The 

Account of, 442. 
DOUGLAS, Stephen A., 

Favors popular sovereignty, 472. 

DRAFT, The, 

Ordered by Congress, 522. 
DRAKE, Sir Francis, 

Career of, SO ; carries off Raleigh's colony, 82. 
DRED SCOTT DECISION, The, 

History of, 474. 



E 



EAST 1NDI.\ COMPANY, TueDdtch, 

Mentioned, 92. 

EATON, William, 

Campaign of in Africa, 3S1. 

EDUCATION, 

Favored by the Puritans, 159 ; character and ex- 
tent of in the colonies, 282; nercvsary to perpetu- 
ity of American institutions, 5.0. 

ELIZABETH, Queen, 
Death of, 84. 

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION, The, 
Issued by Lincoln, 511 ; text of. Appendix H. 

EMBARGO ACT, The, 

Passage of, 385 ; ridicule of, 386. 

ERIf'KSON, Lief. 

Discovery of America by, 51. 

ERICKSON, Thorwald and Thorstein, 
Mentioned, 51, 52. 

ERICSSON, John, 

Invention of Monitor by, 497. 

ESPEGO, ■ 

Founder of Santa Fe, 63. 
ESQUIMAUX, The, 

Territorial position of, 42 and Map I. % 

EUTAW SPRINGS, 

Battle of, 351. 



F 

FAIR OAKS, 

Battle of, 503. 
FARRAGUT, Admiral, 

On the Mississippi, 498; capture of Mobile by, 531. 
FEDERALIST PARTY, The, 

Rise of, 3.^9 ; overthrow of, 375. 
FENDALL, Josias, 

Governor of Maryland, 223. 
FIELD. CYRts W., 

Laying of Atlantic cable by, 476, 545. 
FILLMORE, Millard, 

Vice-President, 462; became President^ 465 ; wise 

measures recommended by, 466. 



618 



INDEX. 



FINANCIAL CRISES, 

Of IS19, 419; of 1637, 437; of 1S73, 560. 
FIVE FORKS, 

Battle of, 538. 
FLETCHER, Benjamin, 

Governor of New York, ITS. 
FLORIDA, 

Colonization of, 68 ; cession of, 419. 
FORREST, N. B., 

Raid of through Tennessee and Kentucky, 523. 
FORT DONELSON, 

Capture of, 496. 
FORT DuQUESJ^E, 

Bee Fori Pitt. 
FORT FISHER, 

Capture of, 532. 
FORT JACKSON, 

Capture of, 498. 
FORT LeBCEUF, 

Affairs at, 253. 
FORT McHENRY, 

Defence of, 411. 
FORT MEIGS, 

Siege of, 41JI. 
FORT MIFFLIN, 

Defence of, 326. 
FORT MOULTRIE, 

Attack on, 307. 
FORT ORANGE (Nassau), 

Building of, 91, 162. 
FORT NASSAU, 

Built, 21)3. 
FORT NECE.S,SITY, 

Built and defended by Wasliington, 255, 256. 
FORT PITT, 

Built, 254 ; captured by the French, 254 ; retaken 

by the English, 272. 
FORTS, 

A list of at the beginning of the war of 1812, 396. 
FORT ST. PHILIP, 

Capture of, 498. 
FORT SUMTER, 

Bombardment of, 484. 
FORT WILLIAM HENRY, 

Siege of, 269. 
FRANCE, 

Possessions of in America, 270; incites the colo- 
nies to rebel, 285; alliance of with the United 

States, 328-330 ; difHculties with, 373. 
FRANKLIN, Benjamin, 

Plans Union for America, 257; editor of New 

Englanil Co'n-fuf/, 282 ; favors liberty, 289 ; at the 

court of Louis XVI., 329 ; sketch of, 329. 
FREDERICKSBURG, 

Battle of, 509. 
FREMONT, John C, 

Explorations of, 452. 
FRENCH, The, 

Explorations and settlements of in America, 70- 

76, 248,249; trading-posts of in the West, 249; 

claim the Ohio valley, 251. 
FROBISHER, Martin, 

Voyages of, 79. 
FROLIC, The, 

Affair of, 397. 
FULTON, Robert, 

Invention of steamboat by, 386; the torpedo busi- 
ness, 387. 



G 



GADSDEN PURCHASE, The, 

Account of, 470. 
GAGE, General, 

Occupies Boston, 293 ; career of, 297-301. 
GATES, Horatio, 

In command of the Army of tlie North, 323; in 

the cabal against Washington, 328. 
GATES, Sir Thomas, 

Governor of Virginia, 106. 



GENET, Citizen, 

Career of in the United States, 36S. 

GEORGE III., 

Character of, 286. 

GEORGIA, 

Colonization of, 238 ; history of, 238-246. 

GERRY, Eleridge, 

Embassy of to France, 373 ; Vice-President, 399. 

GETTYSBURG, 
Battle of, 520. 

GHENT, 

Treaty of, 414. 

GILBERT, Sir Humphrey, 
Career of, 80. 

GIST, Chiustopher, 

Expednion of to the Ohio, 251. 

GOLD, 

Discovery of in California, 459. 

GORGES, Ferdinand, 

Proprietor of New Hampshire, 198. 

GOSNOLD, Bartholomew, 

New route of to America, 84. 

GRANT, Ulysses S., 

At Dnnelson, 496; at Pittsburg Landing, 497 ; at 
Vicksliurg, 512; commander-in-chief, 525 ; in the 
■Wilderness, 535; besieges Petersburg, 536; in 
pursuit of Lee, 538-540; elected President, 551; 
sketch of, 552; administration of, 552-568. 

GREAT BRITAIN, 

Colonizes America, 76-91, 95-245 ; grants of terri- 
tory by, see Map III ; extent of possessions 
(1655), see Map IV; oppresses the colonies, 285- 
296; treaty with, 354; troubles with, 369; doc- 
trine of respecting neutrals, 384. 

GREELEY, Horace, 
Notice of, 558. 

GREENE, Nathaniel, 

Saves the army at Brandywine, 325; splendid 
campaigns of in the Carolinas, 347-351. 

GRENVILLE, Sir Richard, 

In command of Raleigh's fleet, 82. 

GRIJALVA, 

Explorations of, 58. 

GUERRIERE. The, 
Affair of, 397. 

GUILFORD COURT HOUSE, 
Battle of, 349. 



H 



HALF-KING, The, 

Relations of with the French and English, 255. 
HALF-MOON, The, 

Voyages of, 92-94. 

HAMET, 

Ex-emperor of Tripoli, 381. 

HAMILTON, Alexander, 

Builder of Fort Washington, 314 ; defender of the 
Constitution, "60 ; sec'y of the treasury, 3r'4 ; first 
major-gen. of the army, 373 ; killed by Burr, 382. 

HARM A R, General, 
Expedition of, 366. 

HARPER'S FERRY, 

Destruction of arsenal at, 485. 

HARPilSON, William Henry, 

Gnvernor of Indiana, .390 ; at Tippecanoe, 391 ; in 
ci'inmand of the army of.the West, 40(1; elected 
Pn-sideiit, 439; sketch of, 440 ; administration of, 
440; death of, 441. 

HARTFORD CONVENTION, The, 
Account of, 412. 

HARVARD COLTiEGE, 
Founding of, 1.32. 

HAYNE, Senator, 

Debate of with Webster, 429. 

HAYTI, 

Claims recognition, 417. 

HENRY. John, 

Conspiracy of against the United States, 392. 

HENRY, Patrick. 

Makes some remarks in the House of Burgesses, 
289 ; leads the people, 3U3 ; opposes the Constitu- 
tion, 362. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



619 



HERJULFSON, 

Meutioiied, 51. 
HESSIANS, The, 

Hired to fight America, 390; overpowered at 

Tieutou, 316. 
HODKIRK'S HILL, 

Battle of, 3iO. 

HOOD, J. B., „ , .„ 

l*riveu flora Atlanta, 526 ; defeated at NasUviUe, 

527. 
HOOKER, Joseph, ^ , 

At Lookout Mountain, .')15 ; in command of the 

Army of the Potomac, 518 ; at C'haucellorsville, 

518. 
HORNET, The, 

Atlair of, 4UJ. 
HOUSTON, Sam, 

Sketch of, -177. 
HOWE, General, 

In conuuaud at Boston, 30.") ; negotiates with 

Washington, 31U ; sends a fleet up the Hudson, 

318. 
HUDSON, Sir Henry, 

Efforts of to reach the Indies, 92 ; explorations in 

America, 92 ; death of, 94 ; character of, 160. 
HUGUENOTS, The, 

Mentioned, 67 ; in Florida, 67 ; destruction of, 6S; 

persecution of in France, 232. 
HULL, William, 

Disastrous campaign of, 394. 
HUMBOLDT, 

Cited, 54. 
HURON-IROQUOIS, The, 

Territorial position of, 43 and Map I. 
HUTCHINSON, Annk, 

Heresy of, 131; an e.vilo to Rhode Island, 132; 
death of, 166. 



ICELANDERS, The, 

Discovery of America by, 51. 
ILLINOIS, 

Organization and admission of, 420. 
IMPORTATION ACT, The, 

Passage of, 287. 
IMPRESSMENT, 

lliiiht uf claimed by Great Britain, 393. 
INDEPENDENCE, „ , . 

Declaration of, 309 and Appendix D ; acnievement 

of, 355; centennial of, 565-568. 
INDIANA, 

Organization of, 378; admission of, 416. 

INDIANS, The, 

Name of, 41 ; origin of, 41 ; ethnology of, 42 ; fam- 
ilies of, 42; characteristics of, 44,45; family or- 
ganization of, 45; civil government among, 4h ; 
religion of, 46 ; arts of, 47 ; language of, 47 ; writ- 
ing'of, 48; personal appearance of, 49; manners 
and customs of, 49. 

INDIAN TERRITORY, The, 
Organization of, 43U. 

INTERIOR, Department of, 
Establishment of, 462. 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS, 
CJuestiou of, 418. 

INTERNAL REVENUE, The, 
Account of, 541. 

IROQUOIS, The. , „ t . . m 

Territorial position ot, 43 awl Map I ; treaty witli 
175. 

IRVING. Washington, 

Relation of to American Literature, 4, i. 

ISABELLA, 

I'avor of to Columbus, 55. 



JACKSON, Anbbew, „ , ,„, . x- 

In command asiainst the Creeks, 40?.; at New 
Orleans, 412; against the Seminoles, 419 ; elected 



President, 426; sketch of, 426; adminietration of, 
426-436; censured by Congress, 432 ; Earewell Ad- 
dress of, 435 ; death of, 461. 
JACKSON, Stonewall, 

At Cedar Mountain, 5(15; at Fredericksburg, 509; 
at Chancellorsville, 518; death of, 518. 

JAMES II., 

Relations of with American colonies, see Massa- 

chusetts and Virgiiiia. 
JAMESTOWN, 

Founding of, 87 ; affairs at, 95-113 
JAPAN, 

Ope*iing of intercourse with, 470. 

JAVA, The, 

Affair of, 397. 
JAY COOKE AND COMPANY, 

Failure of, 560. 

JAY, John, 

Defends the Constitution, 359; appointed chief- 
justice, 364 ; negotiates a treaty with Great Brit- 
ain, 369. 

JEFFERSON, Thomas, 

Autlior of the Declaration, 309; drafts ordinance 
for the North-western Territory, 359 ; opposes the 
Constitution, 362; secretary of state, 364 ; Vice- 
President, 371 ; elected President. 376; sketch of, 
376 ; administration of, 376-388 ; death of, 424. 

JESUITS The 

Discoveries' and explorations of in America, 248, 

249. 
JOHNSON, Andrew, 

Elected Vice-President, 541 ; b«-omos President, 

544; sketch of, 544 ; administration of, 544-551; 

impeachment of, 550. 
JOHNSTON, Joseph E., 

.At Manassas, 491 ; wounded, 503; generalship of, 

530 ; surrender of, 530. 



K 

KANSAS, 

Troubles in, 473. 
KANSAS-NEBRASKA BILL, The, 

Account of, 473. 
KEARNEY, Philip, 

Expedition of to California, 452; killed at Chan- 

tilly,506. 
KEARSARGE, The, 

llestruction of the Alabama by, 534. 
KENESAW MOUNTAIN, 

Battle of, 525. 

KENTUCKY, , . . ^ „^, 

Colonization of, 367 ; admission of, 367. 

KIDD, William, 

Career of, 179. 
KIEFT, Sir William, 

Governor of New Netherland, 165. 

KILPATRICK, H.J., 

Fight of with Hampton, 529. 

KLAMATHS. , ,^ ^ 

Territorial position of, 44 and 31ap 1. 

KOSSUTH. Loris, 

Visit of to the United States, 467. 

KOSZTA, Martin, 
Aflair of, 471. 



LAFAYETTE, Marqvis de. 

Gives himself to the cause of liberty, 320: cam- 
paign of in Virginia, 352 ; visit of to America, 422, 

LANE, Ralph, 

Governor of Raleigh, 82. 
La ROCHE, Marquis or, 

Plans a colony, 74. 
La SALLE, Robert de. 

Explorations of, 248. 
LAUDONNIERE, 

In Florida, 74. 
LAWRENCE, Captain, 

Death of, 406. 



620 



INDEX. 



LEE, Charles, , .. , j- «• * 

Conduct of as a general, 315; disobedience of at 
Moumouth, 331 ; dismissal of from service, o31. 

LEE, KicHARD Henkt, «• j , ,aq 

Kesolutions of Independence offered by, 309. 

LEE, Robert E., , . , . , , i, „ 

In \V Virginia, 490; commander-in-clnef of the 
Confederates, r>03 ; invades Maryland, .W ; at An- 
tietam 'M\: at Frederirkslrarg,509; at Cbancellors- 
ville Si-*- ii]x:iai-s rciiiisvlvania, 519; atCettys- 
burg, 520 ': ill th.- WiM.'rneKS. 635; retreat </ from 
Kicliniond, 5oS ; surrender of, 540 ; death ol, ubi. 

LEISLER, Jacob, . 

Leader of insurrection in ISewYork, 1,0. 

LEOPARD, The, 
Affair of, 3S5. 

LEWIS, Captain, 

Exploring expedition of, 3S2. 

LEWISTOWN, 

Founding of, 163. 

LEXINGTON, 
Battle of, 298. 

LINCOLN, Abraham, „ ^ . • 

Elected President, 479; sketch of, 482; adminis- 
tration of. 4S2-5-I3; issues Emancipation Procla- 
mation, 511 ; re-elected, 541 ; assassination of, o42; 
character of, 542, 543. 

LITTLE BELT, The, 
Affair of, 391. 

LIA'INGSTON, Edward, 

Agent to purchase Louisiana, 378. 

LOCKE, John, 

Prepares tlie Grand Model, 225. 

LONDON COMPANY, . , ,. . ,, ttt • 

Organization of. ^5 ; grant to. Si and Hhtp 111 , 
charter of, 86 ; fleet sent to America by, 66. 

LONG ISLAND, 
Battle of, 311. 

LONGSTREET, General, 
iiee Lees cumpaiijtis. 

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, 
Storming of, 515. 

LOUDOUN, Lord, 

Career of in America, 267-270. 

LOUTSBURG. 

Siege of, 157, 153. 
LOUISIANA, , . ., ,. , 

Purchase of, 378; boundaries of, 378 ; civil discord 

in, 559. 
LUNDY'S LANE, 

Battie of, 408. 
LYON. Natha^-iel, 

In Missouri, 492. 



M 



MAcDONOXJGn, Comjiodore, 

At Plattsburg, 409. 
MADISON, James, ,^ ., ^ 

I'avois the Constitution, 362; elected President, 

386; sketch of, 3Ss ; administration of, a^^S-lie ; 

unwarlike disposition of, 392; deatli of, 435. 

MAGELLAN, Ferdinand, 

Circumnavigation of globe by, 01. 

MAINE, 

Colonization of, 136 ; admission of, 420. 

MALTEUN HILL, 

Battle of, 504. 
MANASSAS, 

Battle of, 491. 
MANDEVILLE, Sir John, 

Views of respecting the figure of the earth, 54 and 

Appendix A. 
MANHATTAN ISLAND, 

Purchase of, 102. 
MARION, Francis, 

Career of, 341, 342, 350. 
MARSHALL, John, . 

Embassy of to France, 373 ; in the chief-jnstice- 

sliip, 379. 
MARYLAND, 

Colonization of, 216; history of, 216-224. 



MASON, J. M., 

Embassador of the Confederacy, 494 ; capture ol, 

4U4 ; liberation of, 495. 
MASONIAN DIFFICULTIES. The, 

Concerning New Hampshire, lUS-202. 
MATHER, Cotton, 

Responsible for witchcraft atrocities, 151-lo3. 

MAY, Cornelius, „ , , , , .„ 
Governor of New Netherland, 102. 

McCLELLAN, George B., 

Campaign of in West Virginia, 490; in com- 
mand of the Army of the Potomac, 494; penin- 
sular campaign of, 502-505 ; at Antietani, .500 ; 
superseded, 509; candidate for the presidency, 
511. 

MEADE, George G., . j «■ ..r, « 

At Fredericksburg, 509; in command of the Ar- 
my of the Potomac, 520; at Gettysburg, 520; in 
the Wilderness, 535. 

MEIGS, Colonel, 

Exploit of at Sag Harbor, 319, 

MELENDEZ, Pedro, 

Career of in Florida, 67. 

MERRIMAC, The, 

Fight of with the Monitor, 498. 

MIANTONOMOII, 

Relations of with Roger Williams, 194. 

MICHIGAN, , . . ^ ,^. 

Organization of, 382 ; admission of, 43j. 

MILL SPRING, 

Battle of, 496. 
MINNESOTA, 

Admission of, 477. 

MINUIT, Peter, 

Governor of New Netherland, 162. 

MISSIONARY RIDGE, 

Storming of, 516. 

MISSISSIPPI, 

Organization and admission of, 418. 

MISSOURI, , . . ^ ,„, 

Organization of, 420; admission ol, 421. 

MISSOURI COMPROMISE, The, 

History of, 421. 
MOBILIANS, The, ,^ ^ 

Territorial position of, 43 and Map 1. 

MODOCS, The. 

War with, 559. 
MONITOR, The, 

Fight of with the Merrimac, 498. 
MONJIOUTH, 

Battle of, 331. 

MONROE, James, _ , , ^ „ . 

Agent to puicbase Louisiana, 3(8 ; elected Presi- 
dent, 416; sketch of, 416 ; administration of, 416- 
423; death of, 435. 

MONROE DOCTRINE, The, 
Proclamation of, 422. 

MONTEREY, 

Storming of, 451. 

J10NTEZU5IA, 

Account of, 58-61. 

MONTGOMERY, Richard, 

Expedition of against Canada, 303 ; death of, 304 ; 
sketch of, 305. 

MONTREAL. 

Name of, 72; expedition against, 156. 

MOORE, James, 

Governor of South Carolina, 234. 

MORGAN, Daniel, 

At Bemis's Heights, 323 ; at the Cowpens, 347. 

MORGAN. John, 

Raid of into Indiana and Ohio, 517. 
MORGAN, William, 

Disappearance ol, 425. 
MORMONS, The, 

Account of, 414 ; rebellion of, 475. 

MORRIS, Robert, 

Devotes his fortune to liberty, 316; appointed 
secretary of finance, 346; brought to ruin, 358. 

MORRIS, T. A., 

Campaign of in West Virginia, 490. 
MORSE. S. F. B., 

Invention of telegraph by, 446. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



621 



MOSCOSO, 

Successor of De Soto, 66. 
WUKFREESBOROUGH, 

Battle of, 501). 



N" 



NARVAEZ, Pamphii.o de, 

Army sent by to Mexico, 60; governor of Florida, 

i;3. 
NASHVILLE, 

Siese of, oL'6. 
NATIONAL DEBT, The, 

Extent of, 545. 
NEGRO PLOT, Tke, 

In New York, 1S2. 
NEW AMSTERDAM, 

Founding of, y4 ; history of, ir,0-]71. 

NEW ENGLAND, 

Colonization of, ill, 123,184, 193, I'.IS ; education in, 
2S2. 
NEW HAMPSHIRE, 

Colonization of, l'.»S ; history of, 19S-202. 

NEW HAVEN. 

Founding of, ISS. 

NEW JERSEY, 

Ccdonization of, 203; history of, 203-208 ; division 

of, 205. 
NEW NETHERLAND, 

Name of, <I4 ; history of, 160-171 ; conquest of, 171. 
NEW ORLEANS, 

Battle of, 413. 
NEWPORT, Christopher, 

Sent out by London Company, 86. 
NEW SWEDEN, 

C<dc>iii/.atioji of, 165; history of, 165-169; extent 

of. Map IV. 
NEW YORK, 

Colonization of, 160 ; history of, 160-1S3. 

NEW YORK CITY, 

Settlement of, 160; under the Dutch, 160-171 ; un- 
der the Ensiish, 171-ls.';; British forces before, 
310; captured by British, 313; evacuation of, 3.55. 

NICOLLS, RicHAun, 

Governor of New York, 172. 

NIPMUCKS, The, 

In KingPhilip's War, 141. 

NORSEMEN. The, 

Iijscovery of America by, 51 ; character of, 52; 

traces of in Rhode Island, 195. 
NORTH CAROLINA, 

Colonization of, 224 ; history of, 224-229. 
NORTH-EASTERN BOUNDARY, 

Settlement of, 441. 
NORTHEN PACIFIC RAILROAD, The, 

Account of, 560. 
NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY, 

Organization of, 359 ; division of, 377. 
NULLIFICATION, 

Account of, i26 ; a cause of the Civil War, 488. 



o 

OHIO, 

Organization and admission of, 3(8. 
OHIO COMPANY. The, 

Grant to, 250. 
OGLETHORPE, James, . „^„ „,, 

Sketch of, 238 ; career of in Georgia, 239-244. 
OMNIBUS BILL, The, 

History of, 464. 
OPECHANCANOUGH, 

Notices of, 100, 113. 
ORDERS IN COUNCIL, The, 

Issued by Great Britain, 3&6 ; promised repeal of, 

389. 
OREGON BOUNDARY QUESTION, The, 

Settlement of, 45S. 
OSTEND MANIFESTO, The, 

History of, 472. 



PACIFIC RAILROAD, The, 

Project of, 469 ; completion of, 553, 
PALO ALTO, 

Battle of, 450. 
PAPER MONEY, 

First used in America, 149. 
PARRIS, Samuel, 

Responsible for witchcraft atrocities, 1.50-153. 
PATKOONS, The Ditch, 

Colonize New Netherland, 163, 164. 
PAUL JONES, 

Great naval battle of, 33.S. 
PEACOCK, The, 
Affair of, 405. 
PEN N.William, 

In New Jersey, 205; proprietor of Pennsylvania, 
209; sketch of, 210; career of, 210-215. 
PENNSYLVANIA, 

Colonization of, 209 ; history of, 209-215. 
PEPPEREL, Sill William, 

Expedition of against Louisbnrg, 157. 
PEQUODS, The, 

War with, 185-188. 
PERRY, Oliver H., 

Victory of on Lake Erie, 401. 
PETERSBURG, 

Siege of, 536, 538. 
PHILADELPHIA, 

Founding of, 212 ; capture of by the British, 325. 
PHILIP, King of the Narkagansetts, 

War with, 139-144. 
PHIPPS, Sir William, 

Connection of with Salem witchcraft, 151. 
PICKETT, General, 

Charge of at Gettysburg, 522. 
PIERCE, Franklin, 

Elected President, 469; sketch of, 469; adminis- 
tration of, 469-474. 
PILGRIMS, The, 

See Puritans. 
PINCKNEY, C. C, 

Embassy of to France, 373. 
PITT, William, 

Premier of England, 270; defends America, 292. 
PITTSBURG LANDING, 

Battle of, 497. 
PLYMOUTH, 

Founding of, 91. 
PLYMOUTH COMPANY, The, 

Organization of, 85 ; grant to, 85 and Map III. 
PLYMOUTH COUNCIL, The. 

Organization of, 88; giant to, SSajid Map III. 
POCAHONTAS, 
Story of, 101-109. 

POLK, James K., 

Elected President, 446; sketch of, 447; adminis- 
tration of, 447-462. 
POLK, Leonidas, 

Campaign of in Kentucky, 493. 
PONT I AC, 

Conspiracy of, 277-279. 
POPE, John, 

Campaign of in Virginia, 505. 
PORT BILL, The Boston, 

Passage of, 295. 
PORTER. Admiral, 

Bombards Vicksbnrg, 512 ; at Fort Fisher, 532. 
PORT ROYAL, (Annapolis), 

Founded, 75; siege of, 155. 
PORTUGESE, The, 

Discoveries of in Americ*. 69. 
POSTAL MONEY- ORDER SYSTEM, The, 

Establishment of, 546. 
POWHATAN, 

Relations of with the colony at Jamestown, 96-112. 
PREBLE, Commodore, 

In the Mediterranean, 380. 
PRESCOTT, General, 

Capture of, 320. 



622 



INDEX. 



PRESIDENT, The, 

Affair of, 391. 
PEINCETON, 

Battle of, 31S. 
PRING Mabtix, 

Voyage of, 64. 
PRINTING-PRESS, The, 

Set up iu Cambridge, 132 ; work of in the colonies, 

282. 
PULASKI, Count, 

Honored for service at Erandywine, 32.3. 

PURITANS, The, 

Rise of, SS; at Leyden, 89; purposes of, 89; voy- 
a£;e of to America, 90; compact of, 91 and Appen- 
dix B; colonization of Massachusetts by, 91; 
character of, li9. 
PUTNAM, Israel, 
Exploit of, 334. 

Q 

QUAKERS, The, 

Arrival of at Boston, lofi ; persecutions of, 13fi, 
137; iu New Jersey, 206 ; colonization of Pennsyl- 
vania by, 19U-215. 

QUEBEC, 

Founding of, 76; expedition of Walker against, 
155; capture of by Wolfe, 276; expedition of Ar- 
nold against, 303. 



R 

RAILROADS, 

Extent of in the United States, 556. 
KALEIGH, Sir Walter, 

Attempts of to colonize America, 81 ; founds city 

of Raleigh, 83. 
RECONSTRUCTION OF SOUTHERN STATES, 

Difficulties concerning, 547, 549, 554. 
RED RIVER EXPEDITION, The, 

Account of, 524. 
EESACA DE LA PALMA, 

Battle of, 450. 
REVERE. Paul, 

Ride of, 297. 
REVOLUTION. The, 

Causes of, 2S5-296 ; history of, 297-356. 
REYNOLDS, John, 

Governor of Georgia, 245. 
RHODE ISLAND, 

Colonization of, 193; history of, 193-198; liberal 

institutions of, 194; traces of Norsemen in, 195; 

domestic difficulties in, 442. 
RIBAULT, John, 

V^.iyaties of, 73. 
RICHMOND, 

Capital of tlie Confederacy, 485; evacuation and 

burning of, 538. 
ROANOKE ISLAND, 

Attempts to colonize, SI. 
ROBERVAL, Loud, 

Voyage of, 72. 
ROBINSON, John, 

Leader of the Pilgrims, 89; counsels Of, 125. 
ROGERS, Major Robert, 

Expedition of, 277. 
ROLFE, John, 

Account of, 108. 
ROSECRANS, W. S., 

At JIurfreesborough, 500 ; at Chickamauga, 514. 
RYSWICK, 

Treaty of, 150. 



S 
SAG HARBOR, 

Capture of, 319. 

SALEM, 

Founded, 126 ; witchcraft at, 150-153. 
SAMOSET. 

Visit of to Plymouth, 123. 



SANDERS CREEK, 

Battle of, 342. 
SANDYS, Sir Edwyn, 

Governor of Virginia, 111. 
SANTA ANNA 

At Buena Vista, 453 ; at Cerro Gordo, 455 ; driven 

from Mexico, 457. 
SANTO DOMINGO, 

Project to annex, 555. 
SAV^ANNAH, 

Founding of, 239; conquest of, 333; capture of 

by Sherman, 527. 
SAYLE, William, 

Governor of South Carolina, 230. 
SCHUYLER, General, 

In command of the Northern army, 321. 

SCOTT, WiNKIELD, 

At Lundy's-Lane, 40.8; plans theiiivasionof Mex- 
ico, 450; at Vera Cruz, 454; at Cerro Gordo, 4.J5; 
enters Mexico, 457; commander-in-chief of the 
Union army, 485. 

SEA-KINGS, The, 
Cliaracter of, ,52. 

SECESSION, 

Account of, 480, 485. 

SELISH, The, 

Territorial position of, 44 and Map I. 

SEMINOLES, The, 
War with, 418,431. 

SEVEN DAYS' BATTLES, The, 
Account, of, .504. 

SEWARD, William H., 

Secretary of State, 484 ; diplomacy of in the Trent 
affair, 495; attempted assassination of, 512; death 
of, 562. 

SHERIDAN, Philip H., 

In the Shenandoah.Valley, 537 ; in pursuit of Lee, 
.539. 

SHERMAN, W. T., 

At Cliicliasaw Bayou, 500; campaign of from 
CliattaiioogH to Atlanta, 525-.526 ; March of to tlie 
Sea, 527 ; from Savannah to Raleigh, 528-530. 

SHIRLEY, Sir William, 

Goveiiior of Massachusetts, 264; campaigns of 
against the French, 264-266. 

SHOSHONEES, Tuk, 

Territorial position of, 44 and Map I. 

SIGEL, Franz, 

In Missouri, 493. 

SIX NATIONS, The, 

Treaty with, 161. ^ 

SLAVERY, 

Introduction of, 110; exclusion of from Georgia, 
240; prohibition of in North-western Territory, 
3.59; a cause of the Civil War, 487; abolished by 
the Emancipation Proclamation, 511; congres- 
sional abolition of, 544. 

SLIDELL, John, 

Ambassador of the Confederacy, 494 ; capture of, 
494 ; liberation of, 495. 

SLOUGHTER, William, 

Governor of New York, 177. 

SMITH, John, 

Voyages of in New England, 87; captured, 88; 
troubles of at Jamestown, 96 ; explores the James, 
96 ; sketch of, 97 ; captivity of, 99 ; exploration of 
Chesapeake by, 102; president of Virginia, 104 ; 
wounded, 105 ; returns to England, 105. 

SMITHSON. James, 
Notice of, 460. 

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, The, 
Establishment of, 460. 

SJIYTH, Alexander, 

In command on the Niagara frontier, .399. 

SONS OF LIBERTY, 
Organization of, 292. 

SOTHEL, Seth, 

('areer of in North Carolina, 227 ; in South Caro- 
lina, 233. 

SOUTH CAROLINA, 

Colonization of, 230 ; history of, 230-237. 

SPAIN, 

Discovers and colonizes America, 54-69; territo- 
rial possessions of iu 1665, see Map IV ; treaty 
with, 419. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



623 



SPECIE CIRCULAK, The, 

Issued by Jiicksou, 437 ; repeal of, 441. 

SPRUNGFIELD, 
Biittle of, 493. 

SQUANTO, 

The luterpreter, 124. 

STAMP ACT, 

Passage of, 2S9 ; provisions of, 289 ; repeal of, 292. 

STAN DISH, Miles, 

General of New England, 123 ; meutioued, 125. 

STANTON, EinviN M., 

Secretary of war, 484 ; death of, 561. 

STATE KIGIITS, The Doctrine of. 

Advocated in South Carolina, 429 ; a cause of the 
Civil War, 486; as aflectiug the future of the Na- 
tion, 57U. 

ST. AUGUSTINE, 
Founding of, 68. 

ST. CLAIIl, Arthue, 

At Ticonderoga, 321 ; governor of North-western 
Territory, 359 ; expedition of, 306. 

STEAMBOAT, The, 
Invention of, 386. 

STEPHENS, Alexander H., 

Opposes secession, 480 ; Vice-President of the Con- 
federacy, 481. 

STONEMAN, General, 

Cavalry raids of, 519,530. 

STONY POINT, 

Capture of by the British, 334 ; retaken by Wayne, 
335. 

STUYVESANT, Peter, 

Administration of in New Notherland, 167-171. 
SULLIVAN, General, 

Siege of Newport by, 332. 
SUMNER, Charles, 

Sketch and death of, 562. 
SUMTER, Thomas, 

Career of in the CarolinaH, 341, 342, 350. 
SUPREME COURT, 

Organization of, 364. 
SWEDEN, 

Colonizes Delaware, 164. 



T 

TALLEYRAND, M., 

Policy of respecting America, 374. 

TARIFF, The, 

Qnestinn of, 428. 

TAXATION, 

Right of claimed by Great Britain, 287. 

TAY'LOR, Zachary, 

Sent to occupy Texas, 447; at Buena Vista, 453 ; 
elected President, 462 ; sketch of, 463 ; administra- 
tion of, 463-465 ; death of, 465. 

TEA-PARTY, The Boston, 

Is celebrated, 295. 
TEA-TAX, The, 

Enacted, 292. 

TECUMTIIA, 

War with, 390; death of, 402. 
TELEGRAPH. The, 
Invention of, 446. 

TELEGRAPH, The Atlantic, 
Bee Ciitile. 

TENNESSEE, 

Colonization of, 293; admission of, 370. 
TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT, 

Of the United States. .555 and Map VIT. 
TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 

Final form of, 546 and Map VI. 

TEXAS, 

Early history of, 445; annexation of proposed, 
445; admission of into the Union, 447. 

TICONDEROGA. 

Epedition <if Johnson against. 265; attack on by 
Abercronibie, 271 ; capture of by Ethan Allen, 
2'.".t. 
TIPPECANOE, 
Battle of, 391. 



TOLERATION, 
.\ plea for, 571. 

TOMPKINS, D. D., 

Vice-President, 416, 421. 

TORONTO, 

Capture of, 404. 

TORPEDO, 

Invention of by Fulton, 387. 

TREATY, 

Of Utrecht, 156; of Aix-Ia-Chapelle, 158; of Paris 
(1763), 279; of alliance with France, 329; defini- 
tive of 1783, 354 ; .lay's, 360; of Ghent. 414 ; with 
North-wcst'n Indians, )17 : cif \\as]iinL't(.n • IsMi 
419; the \V,.bstiT-Asl]l.n.t(in, 4IL'; ..f (Hiad.ihipe 
Hidalgo, 458 ; the Tripartite, 408 ; of Washington 
11872), 556. 

TRENT, The, 

Afl'air of, 494. 
TRENTON, 

Battle of, 316. 
TRIPOLI, 

Besieged by Preble, 381. 
TUSCARORAS. The, 

Migration of, 181. 
TYLER, John, 

Vice-President, 4.39 ; President, 441 ; sketch of, 

441 ; administration of, 44H47. 



u 

UTAH, 

Colonization of, 445 ; rebellion in, 475. 
UTRECHT, 

Treaty of, 156. 



VALLEY FORGE, 

American army at, 327. 
VanBUREN, Martin, 

Elected President, 436; sketch of, 436; adminis- 
tration of, 436-440. 
VANE, Sir Henry, 

In New England, 130; governor of Massachusetts, 

1.30 ; defends liberty, 135; execution of, 138. 
VERMONT, 

Admission of, 366. 
VERRAZZANI, John, 

Voyage of, 70. 
VESPUCCI, 

Voyages of, .56. 
VICKSBURG, 

Siege of, 512. 
VINLAND, 

Limits of, 52. 
VIRGINIA, 

Name of, 82 ; colonization of, 95 ; history of, 95- 

123. 



w 



WADSWORTH. William, 

Hides the charter, 191 ; baffles Fletcher, 191. 
WALKER. Sir Hovenpen, 

Expedition of against Quebec, 155. 
WALKER, William, 

Expeditions of into Central America, 470, 471. 

WALLACE. Lewis, 

At Roniney, 491 ; in defence of Cincinnati, 499 ; on 

the Jlonoc'acy, 537. 
WALLOONS. The, 

In America, 161. 
WAR, 

King Philip's, 1.39; King William's, 147; Queen 

.\nne's, 1.53; King George's, 157; Pecjnod, 185; 

French and Indian. 247-279 ; Revolutionary, 297- 

3.56; of 1812,388-419- with Mexico. 447-458; the 

Civil, 4S2-54U. 



624 



INDEX. 



WAKllEN, COMMODORF., 

Expedition of agiiiiist Louisburg, 157. 

WARKEN, Joseph, 
At Bunker Hill, 300. 

WASHINGTON CITY, 

Founding of, 375; capture of by the British, 410. 

WASHINGTON, Augustine, 
Mentioned, 250. 

WASHINGTON, George, 

Sent by Dinwiddie to the French, 252; builds and 
defends Fort Necessity, 255 ; campaign of witli 
Braddocli, 258-2()l ; made general-iu-chief, 3(i2; 
sketch of, 3112; negotiations of with Howe, 310; 
saves the army at Long Island, 312; retreat of 
across Now Jersey, 3M ; at Trenton, 316; at 
Princeton, 317; at Brandy wiue, 324; sorrows of, 
327; at Monmouth, 331 ; at Yorktown, 353; favors 
Union, 358; chosen President, 362; administra- 
tion of, 363-371 ; tour of, 364 ; wrath of, 367 ; re- 
elected, .367; Farewell Address of, 371 mid Ap- 
pendix G; reappointed commander-in-chief, 373 ; 
death of, 375. 

WASHINGTON, John, 
Mentioned, 119. 

WASP, The, 
Affair of, 397. 

WAY3I0UTH, George, 
Voyage of, 85. 

WAYNE, Anthony, 

At Stony Point, .335; expedition of against the 
Indians, 369 ; death of, 369. 

WEBSTER, Daniel. 

Debate of with Hayne, 429 ; concludes the Ash- 
burton treaty, 442. 

WESLEY, Charles, 

Methodist and poet, 241. 

WESLEY, John. 
In Georgia, 240. 

WEYMOUTH, 

Founding of, 125. 

WHIG PARTY, The, 

Notice of, 428 ; in power, 439, 440 ; again triumph- 
ant, 462. 

WHISKY INSURRECTION, The, 
Account of, 368. 

WHITE, John, 

GoYornor of Raleigh, 83. 

WHITEFIELD, George, 
In Georgia, 241. 

WHITNEY, Eli, 

Inventor of the Cotton Gin, 487. 

■WILDERNESS, The, 
Battles iu, 535. 



WILKINSON, General, 

Cummander-in-chief of the American army, 404. 
WILLIAM AND BIARY COLLEGE, 

Founding of, 122. 
WILLIAMS FAMILY, The, 

Story of, 154. 
WILLIAMS, Roger, 

Jliuister of Salem, 128 ; banishment of, 123 ; foun- 
der of Providence, 129 ; sketch of, 193. 
WILMOT PROVISO, The, 

Account of, 462. 
WILSON, Henry, 

Vice-President, 558 ; death of, 562. 
WINGFIELD, Edward, 

President of Virginia, 96. 
WINGINA, 

Murder of, 82. 
WINTHROP, John. 

Governor of Massachusetts, 127. 
WINTHROP, The Younger, 

Votes against persecution, 136 ; leader of the 

Connecticut colouy, 184. 
WISCONSIN, 

Admission of, 461. 
SVITCHCRAFT, The Salem, 

Story of, 150-153. 
WOLFE, James, 

Expedition of against Quebec, 273-276; death of, 276. 
WOOL. General, 

Musters forces for Mexican war, 451. 
WORLD'S FAIR, The, 

Account of, 470. 
WYATT, Sir Francis, 

Governor of Virgiua, 112. 
WYOMING, 

Blassacre of, 332. 



YALE COLLEGE, 

Founding of, 192. 
YA3IASSEES, The, 

War with, 236. 
Y'EAMANS, Sir John, 

Governor of Carolina, 225. 
YEARDLY, Sir George, 

Governor of Virginia, 110. 
YORKTOWN, 

Siege of, 353. 
YUSEF, The Emperor, 

Is brought to his senses, 381. 



* ^ ''^ Whole number of 2:>(iges, including Ilaj'JS, Charts, Appendixes, 
Vocabulary and Index, 670. 



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